A Higher Law
by RBTL
Summary: The wizarding world has laws keeping homosexuals from equal rights. Albus Severus Potter is angered by this and fights against them. Unfortunately, someone in the wizarding world is watching him, and they aren't happy with what he's done... AS/S, Complete
1. PART I

**A HIGHER LAW**

_Who would give a law to lovers? Love is unto itself a higher law.  
-Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy, A.D. 524_

PART I

"Wake up, Higgs. You got an owl waitin' for you, and you need to clear out. It's way past closing time."

Terence blinked blearily at the bartender, and then raised his head up off the bar. He stood and stretched, and then scratched himself with one hand and covered a yawn with the other. An owl sitting on the bar stool next to him craned its neck towards Terence and pecked him on the hand.

"Ow! Stupid bird drew blood!" He took the letter the bird was carrying and smacked it on the beak. The bird nipped him again and then flew off. Terence popped his injured fingers into his mouth. Once the blood flow had stopped, he pulled open the note.

_We have urgent business to discuss. Meet me behind Madame Lorett's Potions at eight in the morning. Come alone.  
-D. Malfoy_

"Shit. Draco Malfoy wants to see me."

The bartender sniggered lightly as he wiped the counter clean. "You have fun with that. The Malfoys aren't as powerful as they were, but I wouldn't want to end up on their bad side."

Terence glared at him. "Shut up." He glanced out the window of the bar and saw the sun shining in. "Oi, what time is it?"

The bartender motioned to the clock behind him. It read seven fifty-three.

"Bloody hell, I'm gonna be late. See you later, Bern."

Terence rushed out of the pub, ignoring Bern's calls to "get back here and pay your bill!" If he was not on time, Malfoy would be pissed.

Terence Apparated behind Madame Lorett's just in time. He was gasping for breath when Malfoy Apparated into the dark alley with a loud crack. "Cast some privacy wards," Malfoy snapped

Terence shrugged and did as bidden. Wards were an understandable precaution. Knockturn Alley was full of sneaks and snitches who would be happy to take the news that Malfoy was lurking about the seedier part of town straight to the Aurors.

"Now," Malfoy said, "I have a job for you."

Of course he did, why else would he have called Terence there on "urgent business"? Terence just barely refrained from actually saying what was on his mind. A ticked off Malfoy was not a pretty sight.

"I want you to kidnap Albus Potter."

Terence eyes widened. "Are you crazy? I'd have to be a complete idiot to steal the son of the Man Who Lived! Harry Potter would roast me alive!"

Malfoy smiled, a gormless grin that was nothing like his usual smirk. "The Potter boy did something idiotic this morning. He came out to the whole of the Wizengamot. Apparently he wanted to repeal the laws against perversions like him." Malfoy spat on the ground. "Disgusting beasts. However, there is a law on the books that says a wizard can attack a homosexual without being punished for it."

Terence had never heard of a law like that before, but Malfoy had always been better trained in wizarding politics than Terence. "Will I get time for this? If they catch me, that is," Terence asked.

"No." Malfoy fixed his eyes on Terence and demanded, "Can you do it?"

The man's coarse attitude surprised Terence. Had Malfoy abandoned his manners when he stepped into the dark alley?

"Trust me," Terence snarled back, "I can capture the kid. For the right amount of money." He pushed his hand forward, as if asking for the money right then, and edged closer to Malfoy.

Terence was no coward, but Malfoy's malevolent laugh frightened him. "You'll get nothing until I see the boy myself. When you deliver him to me, you will receive one hundred-thousand Galleons. If you are as good as you say, then you don't need to worry."

"I'll get the job done, but I want to be certain you'll not stiff me once —" His words choked off abruptly as a wand was pressed against his windpipe.

"Did you just accuse me of not keeping my promises?"

Eyes wide, Terence shook his head and tried to pull away from the wand, but found the alley wall was right behind him. "No, no, never!" he croaked out. He had heard rumours about the things Malfoy had done in the war. No amount of money was worth undergoing torture at his hands.

"Good." Malfoy lowered his wand, but he did not put it away. "Contact me when you have the boy." With that, the man Disapparated with a rather noisy crack.

Terence shrugged and pushed himself away from the wall. Malfoy seemed tightly strung and more than a little rude, but the job was too good to pass up. It would be easy and rewarding, and Malfoy was too prominent of a character to stiff him. He walked to the edge of the alley, dispelling the privacy wards as he passed through them, and headed back to the pub. Money was tight and the economy was going bust, but Malfoy had promised him enough money to live on for years or gamble on for a month.

All was well.

* * *

Things were going well; Al was quite pleased.

"Three! Only three this morning, Scorpius!" Albus Severus Potter waved his_ Daily Prophet _above his head to beckon Scorpius Malfoy to the seat next to him. Scorpius had barely sat down before Al shoved the paper into his face with glee.

The Great Hall was abuzz with its normal morning noise, students happily chattering as they prepared for yet another day of classes. Few people spared Al a glance, though his voice was far above normal levels.

Scorpius filled the plate before him with a little bit of everything and grabbed a goblet of pumpkin juice. "I'm glad that Slytherin was only maligned three times in today's paper, but if you don't shove off and let me eat, I will hex you." Al was used to his boyfriend's morning grumpiness and simply ignored him, turning to the society section of the newspaper.

He pointed to the middle of the page and grinned. "Look, see, and one mention was so tame I almost didn't count it. Francis LaRou called Slytherin green 'unattractive' and said he would not use it in his spring line. Which makes sense because Slytherin green is far too dark for spring." He tried to show Scorpius the article, but Scorpius rebuffed him by shoving a hand into Al's face.

"I am late and have three minutes to eat my breakfast before I have to run to Arithmancy. Hush or you will face my wrath."

Sticking his tongue out at Scorpius, Al folded up the paper. "Anyway, the count will probably be sky high tomorrow. I pulled a little stunt with the Wizengamot this morning."

It was obvious that half of the Slytherin table was listening in on their conversation because they all groaned. "Is this going to be another Slytherin Pride thing?" Scorpius asked wearily.

"Nope! You'll just have to wait until tomorrow to see." His grin was smug. "I can guarantee that there will be at least eighteen insults to Slytherin in tomorrow's paper!"

"And that's something to be happy about?" Scorpius mumbled around a mouthful of bread.

"Of course! There will be a terribly insulting front page article about what I've done, I'm sure," Al said. Scorpius elbowed him in the side while reaching for the jam and Al glared at him.

Topaz Summerby giggled at them from across the table. "Honestly, Al, why don't you just give up? _The Prophet_ will never stop insulting Slytherins and Malfoy will never be a morning person." She stood and gathered her belongings. "Do you want to walk to Defence with me?"

Al said, "All right. Give me a second to get my stuff." He shoved the paper into his bag and slung it over his shoulder, grabbing a piece of toast in one hand and ruffling Scorpius's hair with the other. "See you later!" he called as he rushed to catch up with Topaz. Scorpius ignored him in favour of fixing his hair.

Topaz looked over at Al as he came up alongside her and frowned. "Why don't you give up?"

"On the _Prophet_?" He shrugged. "I guess because it's a habit. I've been counting the slights to Slytherin in the paper ever since the day Scorpius pointed them out to me. And they've gone down a lot since that first day. There were fifty-three then!"

"Yes," Topaz said, an exasperated timbre to her voice, "I know—we all know."

They paused to let a third-year cross the hallway in front of them before Topaz continued. "But I didn't mean that. Why don't you give up on Scorpius?" They rounded a corner and ended up in an empty hallway.

"Why would I? I know he's not a morning person; I enjoy pestering him and making him grump at me."

"No, why are you dating him?" Topaz reached out to touch Al's arm, but he pulled away before she could. "You are both forever fighting. I don't understand why you are with him."

"I love him. You know that." Al's steps grew faster. "I'd prefer—" Al's eyes quickly scanned the hallway; no one was within earshot, "—to be a bit more open about it, but..." Al shrugged. "It is what it is."

Topaz sped up as well. "Albus Potter! Stop trying to avoid the issue! Scorpius refuses to be open about the fact that you two are dating and it isn't right."

Al stopped abruptly and turned to her. "No, I don't think it is right." She started to speak, but he cut her off. "But that's not the point, now is it? He isn't comfortable with everyone knowing about us. As much as I would like to shout my love to the world, I don't because I don't want to hurt him. I'm not going to stay silent forever, but for right now he deserves his privacy." Al frowned and looked away from her. "You know it's not safe to be openly gay when there are laws against it. It's not your place to worry about it."

"Fine!" She sniffed and turned on her heels to leave.

"Topaz, don't be like that! Come on now, you know I adore you." He followed her at a normal speed and was relieved when she slowed down to his pace. "That's my girl. Now, onwards to Defence!"

Al grabbed his wand and thrust it forward like a sabre. Both of them laughed when purple sparkles flew from the end. "Oops?"

"Come on, you twit." Topaz grabbed Al by the arm and dragged him off to class. "You are a menace to society."

* * *

"Mrs. Weasley, you're wanted in the Minister's office." The voice of Hermione's secretary bubbled through the Intercom Box on her desk. Hermione loved the convenience of an inter-ministry voice communication system, an invention of George's, but right then she was too busy to attend to the call.

Hermione ignored the voice for a minute in favour of composing a letter to her nephew. If only he had come to her about this months ago... but what was done, was done. She glanced back at the note he had Owled her earlier that morning, which explained his latest shenanigans.

"Mrs. Weasley! Are you there?" The secretary's call was decidedly panicked.

Pausing midsentence, Hermione reached over and tapped the Intercom Box with her wand. "What do you want Patrice? I'm busy."

"It's not me, ma'am. The Minister wants to talk to you!" Patrice said.

"All right, I'll give him a call in a minute." Percy probably just wanted to know what to buy his wife for her birthday. It could wait.

"Yes, ma'am. I'll let him know." Hermione heard Patrice's Box cut off and she ended her connection as well. Now she could focus on Al again.

The Box crackled and Hermione dropped her quill and muttered an expletive. Why wouldn't people just leave her alone?

"Hermione! I told your secretary I want to talk to you right now!" Percy's voice said through the box.

Hermione smacked her wand onto the Box with a bit more force than was necessary. "Percy, I'm busy supporting our nephew. Can you bugger off for a moment?"

"Do you mean Al? Have you heard about what he's done?" Percy sounded anxious. What was going on now?

"He told me he was going to do something big, but he didn't give me all of the details."

Percy let out an indignant squawk that sounded rather parrot-like when transmitted through the Box. "You knew about this? And you didn't warn me? Never mind, I need you in my office as soon as possible. The stunt Al just pulled is going to make the Slytherin Pride fiasco look tame."

Hermione really wished Al would have spoken to her about this. "I'll be there in a few minutes," she said and cut the connection.

After gathering together Al's note, a self-inking quill, and some parchment, Hermione rushed out of her office. She nodded to Patrice but didn't respond to the secretary's goodbye. She was far too busy worrying about what Al could have done.

She stepped into an empty Portroom and tapped the button for the Minister's office with her wand. Another recent innovation of George's, the room acted like a Portkey and could move a person from one side of the ministry to another in mere moments. Hermione often found herself longing for Muggle technologies, but George's inventions were even better than what the Muggles could create. Therefore, she was all right with not having a computer or cell phone, for the most part.

The Portroom shivered lightly and then a small ding announced its arrival at her destination. Hermione stepped out of the room and bumped into Griselda Marchbanks.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am," Hermione said as she edged around the woman. "Have a good day." She breathed a sigh of relief as Marchbanks simply sniffed at her and entered the Portroom. The woman lived to annoy everyone around her.

Percy stuck his head out of his office after the Portroom dinged once again. "Is she gone?" he hissed at Hermione.

Hermione grinned. At least she was not the only person Marchbanks irritated.

"It's safe," she said. "What was Marchbanks doing here?"

Percy pushed his door wide open. "Come on in. We need to talk."

Hermione nodded and entered the room behind him, greeting Percy's secretary before following Percy into the inner office. They sat down at the desk and Hermione set her things on it.

"Madame Marchbanks was complaining again. Remember how she got on her high horse when Al began his Slytherin Pride campaign?" He didn't wait for Hermione to reply. "Well, she's even more upset about Al's latest stunt."

"What has Al done, exactly? He sent me a note to let me know he was going to be fighting for gay rights and that he had already sent a letter to the Wizengamot about it."

Percy rolled his eyes. "The boy oversimplified it. Not only did he send a formal letter to the Wizengamot as a whole, but he also sent personal letters to every member of the Wizengamot. Madame Marchbanks was not pleased and came in to let me know."

Well, the boy was ambitious. Formal letters to the Wizengamot were rarely read by every member, but most people would read a letter addressed personally to them. "Have you seen any of these letters?"

"Madame Marchbanks let me read hers and left it behind. She was too busy worrying about the 'atrocity' that two men marrying would be to remember to retrieve it." He held up a piece of paper.

Hermione reached out a hand. "May I?"

He handed it to her, and she began reading.

_Dear Madame Marchbanks,_

_I am writing to you today to urge you to support a change in the laws of our community. At this very moment, hundreds of members of the wizarding world are affected by a set of laws that are outdated and unnecessary. These people are unable to marry, find it difficult to hold down jobs, and are constantly regarded as "different"._

_Ten years ago, the laws regarding werewolves were looked over and changed. These laws were unfair and prejudiced, and the people they affected were numerous. The vast majority of the wizarding world celebrated to see their werewolf friends and family members finally given the chance to live their lives freely. So I ask, in the same spirit of equality, that you consider another group of people who want nothing more than the right to live as they wish, just as the werewolves did._

_The people I am discussing are the members of the homosexual community. These men and women are much like the werewolves: different, but not inherently dangerous. The laws of which I speak proclaim that they shall not be allowed to marry and that any bondings of homosexual couples shall be considered illegal and unrecognised by the Ministry of Magic. They also label homosexuals ineligible for Ministry jobs and refuse them many traditional rights._

_The homosexual community currently has no protection under the law. They don't ask for much, merely protection from discrimination so that they can retain their jobs, find equal housing and marry those whom they love without fear of retaliation. I ask that you consider their plea with an open mind and an open heart. I hope that you will conclude that these are people like any others who only want to be granted simple human dignities._

_With sincere gratitude for your time,_

_Albus Severus Potter_

Well, it was to the point, concise, and truthful. It didn't have much in the way of an emotional investment, but overall, Hermione was pleased that he had taken her advice on the Slytherin Pride campaign to heart.

Hermione lowered the letter and looked up at Percy. "You will support him right?"

Percy's hands fluttered in front of him—"I'll probably be voted out in the next election."—and settled into his lap. "But how can I not?"

Hermione grinned. "You've come a long way from your cauldron bottom days, Percy. I'm glad you're ready to stand by your family regardless of your job."

Percy frowned. "Let's leave the past in the past. I'm not worried about what I've done, I'm worried about what Al has done. What will this mean for him? He'll never be able to get a job at the Ministry now."

Hermione glanced back at the letter. "Well, he never says that he is a part of the gay community, so he could argue against that."

"After pulling a stunt this big, do you think anyone would believe him?"

Well, no, she didn't, especially not the old bats who made up the Wizengamot. "I suppose it's a good thing he was considering a career in potions then. At least he'll be able to get a job somewhere."

"That's fine and dandy for him, but what about the rest of our family? If we support him we'll be putting our jobs at risk." Percy's frown deepened. "You work with situations like this all of the time. If we put ourselves out there, what will we lose?"

Hermione glared at him. "It's not about what we stand to lose; it's what a whole group of people stand to gain." Percy had never been able to understand that concept. "We might be risking our jobs, but isn't Al's happiness worth more than that?"

The Box on Percy's desk crackled then, and his secretary said, "Minister, you have a long-distance contact who would like to connect. Shall I allow the call to go through?"

Percy replied in the affirmative, and then cut the connection to speak to Hermione. "Harry is out on a mission, and it's been impossible to contact him. I'm hoping he'll have some ideas as to what we should do."

"I hope so too."

* * *

"What the hell have you done? 'A little stunt' you said. How can you possibly call this 'a little stunt'?" If Al hadn't been ready to cry, the sight of Scorpius—Mr. Ice Prince himself—turning red in the face from anger might have been a laughable sight. As it was, Al simply buried his head in his pillow and ignored him. He was not an ostrich, but he could try his damndest to become one.

Scorpius was not amused. "Albus Severus Potter! Look at me when I am talking to you." He stomped across the dorm room to Al's bed and shoved at his shoulder until the smaller boy rolled over. "Explain this to me!"

Al pushed him away, stood and walked to the edge of the dorm room, glancing out the underwater window to the fish in the lake. A grindylow swum past and he made a face at it before turning back to Scorpius. "I want to be able to tell the world I love you."

"So you disrupted the Wizengamot and outraged the whole wizarding world?"

"Oh, I'm sure that's stretching it, don't you think?" Al retorted.

"You did all that," Scorpius interrupted, ignoring the question, "just so that you could tell the world that you love me." He huffed. "It might have seemed romantic to you, but that is not how the situation is coming across to me."

Al crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall, the dungeon stones cool on his rapidly heating skin. "I decided to fight for rights and protections that should have been given to us long ago. I was hoping to get a law passed that would allow us to marry. The fact that I want to marry you isn't at all romantic though." Sarcasm dripped from his last few words, but Al couldn't bring himself to talk nicely. He thought he was doing a good thing, and Scorpius had thrown it back in his face.

Scorpius flung his hands up into the air. "What are you on about? We are seventeen! I'm not ready for marriage or anything like that. Why didn't you ask me before making such a huge decision?" He advanced on Al as he spoke, and Al looked away from him.

"It wasn't all about you either. It started with the idea that we could get married, but I'm fighting for more than that." He moved past Scorpius to the trunk at the end of his bed. Upon opening the trunk, Al pulled out a book that was twice as thick and three times as old as his aunt's favoured Hogwarts: A History.

Scorpius didn't wait for him to explain the significance of the book and began ranting as Al flipped through the pages. "Like what? What could be so important that you have to fight the world over it?"

Al's wand tapped the page before him and then slid along the line of text, the words in its path glowing slightly even after the wand had been pulled away. He handed the book to Scorpius. "Just read."

"'_Two people of the same gender are prohibited from marrying. A homosexual shall not be eligible for employment in the Ministry of Magic. They are required to submit themselves to Ministry registration when requested._' ... and there's more. Sodomy is illegal, we can't adopt children, and we can't even be legally bonded." Scorpius's voice trailed off as he dropped the book into Al's trunk. He looked stunned.

"It used to be worse. There was a law in the middle ages that said we could be assaulted and the attacker would go unpunished. Homosexuals were considered less than human. The law wasn't repealed until the 1700's." Al gave a cynical laugh. "At least we are treated somewhat better than we used to be."

Al glanced at the clock to assure himself that they still had time before the other boys returned from dinner, and found they only had twenty minutes of privacy left. It would have to do. Grasping Scorpius's hand, he pulled Scorpius over to Al's bed and then down, so they were both laying on it. Scorpius stared at their clasped hands and tightened his fingers around Al's. Al understood when Scorpius's hold grew tight enough to hurt. When he had first discovered the laws, the idea that they could lose everything by coming out had frightened Al.

"I was researching laws over the summer. After we started dating, I began to wonder what the laws that would affect our relationship were. I knew we couldn't marry, but I never imagined there were laws forbidding homosexuals from bonding or holding a job in the Ministry," Al said. Scorpius shuddered and Al pressed himself closer, offering wordless comfort. "If the Ministry knew you are gay, they would be forced to refuse you employment. You couldn't become an Unspeakable."

"I thought it was just my father and his peers. That it was just the disapproval of their generation towards homosexuality that kept people from coming out." Scorpius took a deep breath, his chest pressing against Al's before retreating. "I was afraid of my father being against us." An anxious giggle burst from his lips. "Now I have to be afraid of the whole world's disapproval."

"Not me." Al kissed Scorpius' forehead gently, using his free hand to smooth soft blond hair away from Scorpius's face, and murmured against the pale skin, "Never be afraid of me."

There was a crash in the common room and the two of them leapt apart, Scorpius falling off the bed and Al jolting into the headboard.

"Ow, ow, ow!" they said in unison. They looked at each other, Scorpius craning his head from the floor and Al rubbing his sore shoulder and skull, and burst into laughter. Al rubbed his head a second longer before reaching out to help Scorpius up. Then he crawled off the bed and reached into his trunk once more.

"Anyway, it's Wednesday. Time to go see Severus." As he pulled out his black wool cloak, Al couldn't help but wish his father didn't need to use the Invisibility Cloak while doing Auror work. It would make sneaking out to the Shrieking Shack so much easier. Fumbling for a moment, he found the Marauder's Map in his left breast pocket, although he was sure he had left it in the right. He smoothed it out and muttered the incantation, grateful that James had finally agreed to hand it down to Al. It had been quite the chore to get hold of the map, and even after James' Leaving Ceremony, it took all Al's negotiation skills to pry the incantation from him. Scorpius was ready by then and dressed in his light winter cloak of green velvet, which looked so soft and silky that Al always wanted to pet it.

He resisted the urge and showed the parchment to Scorpius as he shrugged on his cloak. "Filch is in his office eating supper. Almost everyone else is in the Great Hall, but Professor Zeller is patrolling the first floor."

Nodding, Scorpius bent over the map for a moment before using his wand to highlight a potential path. "If we take this way from the east dungeons to the second floor and then sneak over to the back staircase, we can exit the castle there and follow the shadows around to the Willow."  
Al nodded and pushed the map into his pocket where he could easily reach it if he needed it.

They didn't really need to sneak out of the castle—it was still before curfew—but they had learnt early on that if no one saw you leaving, no one would notice that you did not come back. Their dorm mates were used to them randomly disappearing, and while they wouldn't cover for them if a teacher questioned their whereabouts, the other boys wouldn't go out of their way to tell if they didn't find their way back to their beds until the wee hours of morning.

Following the path through the castle was simple. They had done it many times in the past, sneaking through this passage and down that path and along some other corridor. The sun was just setting when the boys emerged from the castle and headed out onto the snow-covered grounds. Al grabbed a thick twig as he passed through some bushes. When they arrived at the tree, he levitated the stick past the thrashing branches to the proper knot, made easier by plenty of practice.

Scorpius entered the passageway first and Al followed behind, grabbing the stick as he passed it. The tree resumed its writhing and Al dropped the twig just inside the entrance to the tunnel. Severus had taught him to do that, explaining that inquiring minds would notice if a stick was at the base of a tree that never broke its branches. The Slytherin in Al had thrilled to realise that Severus Snape had the ultimate Slytherin mind. More to the point, he was willing to share it.

He had been visiting with the older man ever since his first year. Al had been distraught when he was sorted into Slytherin, until Harry came to visit him at Hogwarts and introduced him to a man he had only heard of. Since then Severus had served as a mentor to Al and was something of a second father, however grudgingly the man had started such a relationship.

Al could hear Scorpius say hello as he entered the shack, and Severus greeted him warmly in return. It got lonely out there in the Shrieking Shack, so Severus was always glad to see them. Al had been bringing Scorpius along to talk since their third year, and while he was not as close to Severus as Al was, he did like and respect the man.

Al stepped into the room and smiled at the ghost. "Hey, Severus! What have you been up to?"

Severus rolled his eyes in response. "What do you think I've been doing? I'm trapped in this place with nothing to do except count rats." He shuddered. "Nasty things, really."

Scorpius settled himself onto a dusty sofa. "I heard that there have been all kinds of screams and shrieks coming from the shack as of late." He smirked. "I'm sure you have nothing to do with that, of course."

"Of course not. They must have been hearing the rats." Al could hear the laughter in Severus's voice, even if he wore the same dour expression as always. Even in death the man wouldn't loosen up.

Al settled himself on the floor next to Scorpius's feet. "Are you trying to bring back the Shrieking Shack legend?"

Severus shook his head. "No. I just love frightening the imbeciles who try to break in."

They talked for a few hours, discussing classes and teachers and "irritating idiots who should leave me alone", which meant that Al's dad had come to talk to Severus. Then Scorpius prodded Al with his knee, and Al stood up.

Stretching he smiled at Severus. "It's time for us to head back to school."

Severus quirked an eyebrow at him. "Be careful, Albus."

Al shrugged. "Sure. We'll see you next week!"

Scorpius stood and followed Al out of the shack, waving goodbye to Severus as he stepped out of the room.

"Ready?" he whispered in Al's ear, and then Scorpius cast a quick Muffliato. They Apparated to the alley next to the Hog's Head.

Al wrapped his hand around Scorpius's arm before he could step out of the alley. "You don't think Severus knows we sneak into Hogsmeade, do you?"

"How could he? We go as far down the tunnel from the shack as we can before we hit the wards, and we always silence our Apparition pops."

"Still... why else would he say that when we left?"

"Stop worrying, Al. He probably meant that we shouldn't get caught getting back into the castle." He tugged his arm free of Al's grasp. "Now come on, I'm thirsty."

Al laughed. "You sound like a drunkard or something."

"Al!" Scorpius whined.

"All right, all right, I'm coming!"

Al was still laughing as they walked through the door of the Hog's Head. He smiled at the bartender, Stan Shunpike, and waved at the portrait of the old owner, Aberforth Dumbledore. They both nodded in reply.

Al sat down at a table near the bar while Scorpius went to get their drinks. Scorpius came back with a Firewhisky and something pink.

"What is _that_?" Al asked.

Scorpius shrugged. "I don't know. I asked Shunpike what the special was and he called it 'Wanker's Brew' and it sounded cool, so I decided to try one." He handed Al the firewhisky, and settled himself into a chair. Then he took a sip of the "Wanker's Brew" and started coughing. "Oh, that's horrible!"

Al snagged the glass and took a sip. "It's not that bad. It's very sweet, in fact."

"Exactly! Ew, I hate sweets..."

"Baby. I'll drink it then."

Scorpius snatched his firewhisky. "Great, I'll take this then."

Al laughed as Scorpius washed away the taste of the pink drink with a huge gulp of firewhisky. He took a swallow of the pink drink. It was very sweet and bubbly. He liked it.

Apparently, it was also quite strong because Al felt himself getting a bit of a buzz as he continued drinking. His conversation with Scorpius made no sense, but he kept talking anyway. It was nice just to hear his voice.

Scorpius seemed to be holding his liquor better than Al. He kept asking Al if he was all right, and Al kept having to reassure him that he was fine. Scorpius didn't seem to believe him. Perhaps it was because Al kept giggling in the middle of words...

Al was so out of it that he didn't even jump when the door slammed open behind him, and a strident voice called out, "Oi! I want your strongest gin, and I want it now!"

"You got any money?" Shunpike asked.

"No," the man answered. "I got a job though!"

"I don't care. No money means no booze. Now get your drunk arse out of my bar."

The man growled. "I got money. It's right here."

Al did jump when the man grabbed him around the neck. "Hey!" he protested.

"Shut your gob, you anklebiter. I want money, and you're gonna get it for me." The man cackled. "This job is gonna be even easier than I thought. Who woulda thunk that you could find Potter's kid skulking around in this dump?"

Scorpius jumped up and tried to shove the man away. "You won't get any money for a ransom or anything, so let Al go!"

The man seemed get a kick out of that. "Oh, no. I'm not gonna sell him back to his father. I've got a much better offer already." He chuckled. "Tell your old man I'll be by soon Malfoy."

Al fought against the man's grip then. "How do you know our names? Let me go!"

Scorpius pulled out his wand and pointed it behind Al. "Let him go before I hex you!"

Time seemed to slow down, and Al glanced around the bar. The other patrons were Apparating away as if to avoid the commotion, and Shunpike was just gazing at the fight with bored eyes. Aberforth was saying something, but his voice didn't carry to Al's side of the room. Then the hand around Al's neck tightened, and his attention was brought back to the fight.

"I'll be back with money soon."

Al thought that meant he would be leaving, and he was mostly right. The man Apparated away a moment later—but he Apparated Al away with him.

* * *

"Oh, Al." Harry Potter sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk before him while he rubbed his forehead. "I wish he had come to me before he started another crusade. Two days now and the Wizengamot is still in an uproar. I wasn't even in the country, I've only been back for three hours, and I haven't heard about anything but Al's latest stunt."

Ron and Hermione Weasley sat across the desk from him, each with a cup of tea in their lap. Harry's cup sat on his desk, next to an uneaten breakfast. The morning was not going well for any of them. Hermione had, of course, taken up the crusade for gay rights the moment her nephew brought it to the forefront of the Wizengamot's attention. Letters of support and Howlers of degradation had inundated her office from the moment she walked in that morning. Ron had been dealing with the crowds of anxious people who had shown up at the Ministry that day. Aurors rarely had to do crowd control, but fistfights had repeatedly broken out and overtaken the crowd, so they were forced to step in and break them up. They had gathered in Harry's office for an impromptu meeting after he was released from his meeting with Percy.

Hermione fiddled with her cup. "I'm sorry, Harry. I really thought you knew about it. I saw him researching gay laws over the summer, and I had an inkling he might try something like this. I didn't mention fighting like this though because I didn't want him to start battling for his rights until we could help him. My office was preparing to overlook the laws as soon as we got the vampire laws passed."

Harry laughed; it wasn't an overly happy sound. "I knew he was looking up the laws, but I thought he just wanted to know if he was legally allowed to have sex with the Malfoy boy."

Ron started, spilling his tea everywhere. "He's gay? And with a Malfoy? When did we learn this?"

Hermione grabbed the napkin from Harry's meal and used it to mop up Ron. "Now, really dear, you could be a little more careful. Tea doesn't come out of these robes very well. And Al's been dating Scorpius since his sixth year."

Harry laughed again at the look on Ron's face, and this time, his laughter was heartfelt. "You didn't pick up on that? He's never told us, no, but he's always talking about him."

"But, but…"Ron spluttered. "It's a Malfoy!"

A deep sigh issued from Harry. "I know. He's not as bad as his old man, at least. The kid's polite and mannerly, which is more than we could ever say about Draco. His mum seems nice too, though Ginny and I have only met her twice."

"Do they know about Al and Scorpius?" Hermione wore a pensive look that turned into a frown as Harry shrugged.

Slumping back into his seat, Harry closed his eyes for a moment before returning his gaze to Hermione. "I don't think so. Al prefers to have Scorpius come over to our house. When we are around Malfoy, the boys never so much as shake hands, but at our house it's a different story altogether."

"How different are we talking?" Ron asked, a scandalised look crossing his face.

"Oh, nothing like you're thinking," Harry said. "Ruffling Scorpius' hair, a tickle here, an elbow to the ribs there. Little things."

"Like you used to do to me," Hermione said with a sly grin as she raised her cup of tea to her lips.

Ron cleared his throat and shook his head as if to clear it of whatever thoughts of Al touching Scorpius _like that_ had barrelled their way into his brain. "Speaking of parents, does Ginny know about this?"

"I spoke to her this morning, right after I got back to the country and had a meeting with Percy. She's busy interviewing the professional American Quidditch teams for the _Daily Prophet_ and _Quidditch Quarterly_, but she said she hopes it isn't another Slytherin Pride fiasco." A snap of his fingers brought a nearby file flying into his hands. "I can't see how it won't though."

Ron grimaced. "No, not that Harry. Does she know about the Malfoy kid and Al?"

"I imagine she's the one who told Harry. You men are hopeless when it comes to seeing things that are directly in front of you." Hermione poked Ron in the ribs and the two of them shared a smile.

"Hermione's right; Ginny sussed it out before I did. It was hard… I... I wasn't sure how to act around him." Harry flipped through the file, glancing over the tiny amount of information he had about his son's latest mission. "She helped me realise that he wasn't any different and that I didn't need to act any differently… though in hindsight I probably could have skipped over 'the Talk' with him."

"I figured Ginny would probably be fine with it, what with Charlie and all," said Ron.

"Charlie's gay?" Hermione asked. Both boys looked at her and burst into mad laughter at the shock on her face.

Ron reached out and grabbed her hand. "Now who's not seeing what's 'directly in front of them?" He squeezed her hand gently before releasing it. "He doesn't talk about it, but yeah, Charlie's gay."

Hermione's reply was interrupted by the door slamming open. Auror Dawlish stood there panting. "Auror Potter, I've awful news. Headmistress Sinistra has just contacted us: Albus Severus is missing from Hogwarts."

* * *

Ron wasn't finished interviewing Scorpius yet, but the boy looked like he was about to crack. Ron sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose for a second. "All right, never mind. You go get some lunch and I'll talk to you again later."

Scorpius nodded and scrubbed the back of his hand over his eyes. They were red and puffy and Ron felt a twinge of guilt for having made the kid cry. Ron stood and left the classroom, leaving Scorpius to compose himself in private. Hermione stood outside waiting for him.

"He doesn't know anything else? Nothing at all?"

Ron shrugged and leaned on the wall next to his wife. "He says he doesn't. He didn't recognise the kidnapper."

"Can he give a description of the man?"

"It matches the description Shunpike and Aberforth gave us perfectly, so he must be telling the truth." He sighed and wrapped his arms around Hermione. "I'm scared, love. This isn't like a normal mission where we are saving someone we don't know. It's Al's life that is on the line."

She hugged him back, tightly. "I know. I keep thinking, what if it had been Rose or Hugo?"

They stood there for a moment and then Hermione withdrew from the embrace.

"It is Al though, and we need any clues we can find." They headed down the hallway in the direction of the Shrieking Shack, only to stop when they heard Scorpius clear his throat behind them.

"Mr. and Mrs. Weasley? I remembered something."

Ron turned and moved back towards him. "What is it?"

Scorpius fidgeted a bit. "We were talking, before we went to visit Severus, and Al found a law over the summer."

"What kind of law?"

"A, um, homophobic one?"

Ron growled. "All right, and what has that go to do with his kidnapping? We know he was looking up the laws regarding homosexuals."

Scorpius blanched at the show of aggression and Hermione intervened. "It's okay, Scorpius. Please, just go on." Her gentle tone calmed the young man slightly.

"There's a law that says that homosexuals can be attacked, as long as they aren't killed. It was repealed, but what if the kidnapper doesn't know that?" His eyes pleaded with Hermione for reassurance. "And he basically outed himself to the world when he stood up for gay rights in front of the Wizengamot like that. Do you think Al's been kidnapped because he's gay?"

"Unfortunately, we think that's exactly why he's been kidnapped." Hermione felt horrible for having to say it, but it was the truth

Scorpius wilted. "Is there anything I could tell you that would help? I don't know anything else about the kidnapper, and Al didn't tell me anything about the laws or his campaign to change them until last night."

Ron watched the boy struggle to keep his tears at bay. It really wasn't his fault that his father was a bastard. "No, you don't know any more than we do." He reached out and gripped Scorpius's shoulder, squeezing gently. "Just keep thinking and if anything else occurs to you, let us know as quickly as possible." He squeezed his shoulder once more and then released it. "Now go and get some dinner. It's almost time for the elves to clean up the Great Hall, so you better hurry."

Scorpius nodded and left. The two adults waited for Scorpius to turn the corner and then Hermione slid her hand into her husband's.

"It was nice of you to comfort him."

Ron grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "I can be kind sometimes. And he's just a kid. I can't believe we were ever that age, let alone that age and destroying Horcruxes."

"We grew up fast." Hermione sighed. "We had to. I'm just glad our kids get to be kids."

"Me too." He tugged on her arm. "Let's go see if Harry and Snape discovered anything else."

They headed out of the school and down to the Shrieking Shack. Hermione levitated a rock up to the knot to gain them entrance to the passage. When they came out of the tunnel, they found Harry and Snape glaring at each other.

"It's a good thing Professor Snape's already dead or one of you would have killed each other by now," Ron quipped, earning himself a chuckle from Hermione and Harry and a sniff of disdain from Snape.

"Do we know anything else?" Hermione asked.

Harry sighed. "Snape says the boys have been Apparating into Hogsmeade from the tunnel for months."

"I told them to be careful, but I didn't tell them to stop going." He looked at Harry for a long moment. "I knew from experience that it wouldn't stop them."

Harry flushed lightly. Ron knew he was thinking of the many ways they had gotten around adults in their time at Hogwarts. "Anyway, Al and Scorpius showed up towards the end of dinner time. They talked to Snape for a couple of hours, and then they Disapparated to Hogsmeade. From there we tracked them to the Hogs Head. Shunpike says they were there for an hour, hour and a half, and then the kidnapper showed up and suddenly took Al, claiming he'd be back later with money. Apparently, he had been contracted to kidnap Al. That's what Shunpike came up with from his words, anyway. Scorpius then Apparated back to Hogwarts around midnight, and contacted the headmistress. She contacted the ministry at five in the morning, and it took hours for the information to get to us."

"Have you tried tracing the Apparition trail?" Ron looked hopefully, but Harry shook his head.

"It's dead. The headmistress decided to wait until closer to proper 'business hours' to contact us, and now it's untraceable."

"God damn it!" Ron never understood his wife's need to use Muggle epitaphs when under pressure. "Why did she wait?"

"I don't know. Apparently, she thought Al was simply still in Hogsmeade and Scorpius was just drunk and crazy." Harry sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I have no idea what she was thinking."

Snape floated from one end of the room to the other, and Ron realised it was rather odd to watch a ghost pace. "What do we know about the kidnapper?"

"We know he has brown hair and brown eyes. He's slight, but not small. Most of the witnesses said he was of average height. He had no identifiable markings."

"So…" Ron thought for a moment. "He could be anyone, then."

Snape paused in his pacing. "How old did he appear to be?"

"About fifty," Harry said. "Shunpike said he recognised him as someone who was in Hogwarts at about the same time he was."

"Discounting the fact that this man could have been Polyjuiced, I likely taught him. If you can get me an image of the man, I might be able to place him."

"Professor! That's an excellent idea!" Hermione dashed out of the room before any of them could say anything.

"I think she's got an idea," Ron offered. Harry shrugged and turned back to Snape. They went back and forth on various people as they waited for Hermione to come back. Less than thirty minutes later she ran back into the shack, gasping for breath, with Scorpius on her heels.

"I know who he is," she said. "Terence Higgs. He was Slytherin seeker in our first year." She patted Scorpius on the shoulder. "Scorpius let me peek into his head with Legilimency, and I recognized him immediately."

Snape snorted. "Higgs was never the most intelligent person. I can see him kidnapping someone with no precautions. The smartest thing he ever did was act so idiotic in front of the Dark Lord that he refused to give Higgs the Dark Mark."

"Who knew even Voldemort had standards?" Harry muttered.

"He still worked with the Death Eaters though, and he is dangerous. Despite his stupidity, he has a real talent for tracking people down and taking control of them. I don't know who would have hired him, but I believe anyone with Death Eater connections would have known of his skills."

Finally, they had an idea that might give them a lead. "There aren't many Death Eaters left outside of Azkaban. The Notts, Gregory Goyle, and the Malfoys were the only marked Death Eaters to escape imprisonment. Who knows how many unmarked Death Eaters we still have floating around though."

Snape paused in his pacing. "There really weren't many people who worked closely with the Death Eaters and weren't marked. The Dark Lord had an advantage over the marked because he could cause you much pain if you displeased him. It was only the very stupid and the very untrustworthy who were not marked and given full Death Eater privileges."

"Then chances are that it was one of our marked Death Eaters who hired Higgs." Hermione tucked a piece of hair behind her ear as she took a moment to think. "Which of them would have the most reason to kidnap Al? If we can decide on that, we'll have an idea of where to look for him beyond trying to trace Higgs."

"It probably wasn't Draco Malfoy then, or Narcissa. They've both been very good to Al when he visits Scorpius at Malfoy Manor," said Harry.

Ron didn't agree. "Doesn't mean it wasn't a cover. Lucius could easily have influenced either of them. Or he could have done the hiring as well."

Scorpius frowned. "My parents wouldn't have kidnapped Al. They like him!"

Snape shook his head. "Do not cross them off of your list, Mr. Potter. They were all Slytherins and if Albus's recent campaign hurts them in any way, they will not be afraid to retaliate."

"And remember Pettigrew, Harry. Being close to someone will not protect you from them," Hermione added quietly.

"I know, Hermione, it's just… Scorpius is Al's best friend. I hate that the top suspects on our list include his family."

"We still have other suspects." Snape looked uncomfortable and Ron figured that it was weird for him to try to comfort Harry of all people. "The Notts are a very old pureblood family. They would not be happy about things like gay rights. The same goes for Mr. Goyle as well."

"Well, that gives us somewhere to begin the investigation, at least. I'm not sure what else we'll be able to find out here at Hogwarts. We should head back to the office now and update everyone who's investigating this." Hermione turned to Snape. "Thank you for all of your help, Professor. Let's go guys." With a pop! she was gone, Apparating back to the Ministry.

Harry sighed and turned to Snape as well. "Thank you," he paused, "for helping us figure out who kidnapped Al and for trying to protect him."

"It was no problem. Albus is a wonderful young man. I hope you find him quickly and bring him back safe and sound."

Harry Disapparated, leaving Ron alone with Snape.

"Well, Mr. Weasley, I suppose you should be getting on after them."

Ron grinned. "You know, for a sadistic old bastard, you're a pretty nice guy." He swept his gaze over the shack to make sure they weren't forgetting anything. "Thanks for helping with Al and for comforting Harry."

Snape sneered at him. "I did no such thing. I am worried about Albus, not his father."

Ron saw through his feeble protests, but let the matter drop. "I'll keep you updated and let you know when we find Al."

Snape's face softened. "I would appreciate that."

"Me too?" Scorpius asked timidly.

"I'll keep you up to date too. If you remember anything else about the kidnapping, let us know, okay?"

Scorpius nodded.

"Bye then, Scorpius. See you, Snape," he said and Disapparated.

* * *

Last night a blur in Al's mind. He could remember Apparating to the Hog's Head, and drinking something pink, but everything after that was fuzzy.

He tried to turn over in his bed, and remembered something he had forgotten. Al had been kidnapped, and now he was tied to a large table, a limb connected to each table leg. His hurt head from his hangover and his wrists were chafing badly. A feather reached out and tickled his nose suddenly, and Al sneezed. Then the feather came back again. Over and over the feather tickled Al, making him sneeze and exacerbating his headache.

Even though the room was dark, Al could see the man sitting in a chair next to his table and tickling him. He could see little beyond the man though, and could not tell if the room was large or small. There were no windows and he couldn't hear any noise. There was no way of placing his location.

"Would you _stop _that?" Al finally burst out, knowing that irritating someone who could kill him was not a good idea, but he was so frustrated that he did it anyway.

The man just laughed at him and ran the feather under his nose again. "Am I upsetting the baby Potter?"

Snarling, Al waited until the feather passed by again before snapping his teeth around it. It didn't break, but the saliva from his mouth made all the fuzzy barbs stick together. "Thank Merlin," he breathed as the man tossed the feather that was now useless for tickling to the ground.

He regarded the man with suspicion then, better able to focus without a feather being waving underneath his nostrils. "Why exactly am I here? And where is here?"

"You honestly think I'm going to tell you?"

Al tried to shrug, but the ropes wouldn't let him. "What have you got to lose?" he asked instead.

"Ha! Everything, if you find out who I am. I'll be handing you over to someone else in a few hours and then I'm out of here with a bag of money and no bounty on my head." The man seemed pleased, and Al couldn't figure out why.

"I've seen your face though."

The man looked at him then and grinned widely. "Why, you have… I suppose I'll have to kill you then."

Al couldn't help but let out a whimper. "You don't have to kill me; really, I won't tell anyone what you look like."

Hearty guffaws filled the room. "No, you're safe boy. My boss'd have my head if I turned you over to him dead and nothing's fun without a head. Except the Headless Hunt and with my luck I'd end up like Nearly Headless Nick, unable to do even that."

The man knew who Nearly Headless Nick was, which meant that he'd gone to Hogwarts. Knowing that, Al figured out that he might be able to trap him into admitting enough about himself that Al would be able to uncover his identity. Even if Al didn't know who he was, when Al's father came to save him, as Al was certain his father would rescue him at some point, the clues he unearthed in a careful questioning would help his father discover who the kidnapper was.

"You were a Gryffindor then?" Al was delighted to hear the man snort.

"Me? Of course not! I'm a born and bred Slytherin, lad."

The mention of Slytherin was not unexpected, but it did distract Al from his fact-finding. "Slytherin you say? Have you heard about the Slytherin Pride movement? Ever since the last war against Voldemort, Slytherins have been regarded with distrust and disgust. However, we Slytherins-"

His voice was cut off with a swipe of his captor's wand. "Shut your mouth, kid. I've heard your rhetoric spewed from the covers of hundreds of newspapers and I'm sick of it. Slytherins are not supposed to be so public about their fights."

He stood, knocking over the chair as he did, and moved away from Al. "When I was in Slytherin, we learned the proper way to do things. Business deals were done under the table, illicit potions trading took place in the deepest dungeon, and we made Slytherin look good by playing society's games, not by 'fighting for our rights'."

"It wasn't working though!" Al struggled with his bonds, wanting to punctuate his words with gestures, but was unable to do so. "When I was sorted into Slytherin, the seventh years were being beat up by Hufflepuff fifth years! Can you really say that Slytherin house had any level of pride?"

"Pride isn't what Slytherin house is known for." The kidnapper turned back to Al. "We are known for ambition. If pride really means that much to you, perhaps Hufflepuff or Gryffindor would have been a better house for you."

Al was stung. "I'm a Slytherin. I'm very ambitious. Wouldn't you call the Slytherin Pride movement ambitious?"

"No, I'd call it stupid."

"Well, maybe you are stupid!" Al knew that was a mistake as soon as he said it. His captor was at his side in a second, his wand tapping Al's temple.

"Don't tempt me." He traced Al's face with the wand, lowering it to his jugular. "I've no love for you. It's only the pile of Galleons I'm to gain from this job that has kept you alive this long." The wand prodded at his neck and Al fought the urge to cringe away in fear. "If I wanted to, I could kill you faster than you could cry for your mother."

"Good thing you want your Galleons more than his death then." The words came from the doorway, the voice was a snotty and aristocratic one. He moved into the room, but Al could not tell who he was due to the thick hooded cloak he was wearing. An arm protruded from the cloak long enough to hand a large bag to the kidnapper. "Your job is over Higgs. Go." The bag clanked as it passed hands.

"Don't mention my name in front of the boy again," Higgs said after the money had been hidden away in his clothing. "You promised no one would know of my involvement."

The man waved Higgs away. "And they will not. Even if they did, you would not be punished. The boy is a homosexual." Distaste coated his words.

Higgs threw his hands up. "All right, all right. If you are going to hurt that kid, please make it extra painful for me. Little bastard." He left and Al was alone with a man who had essentially just bought him.

He walked over to Al and stood next to him, cloak protecting his face from Al's prying eyes. "Well, well, well, Potter. You are at my mercy."

Grasping on to any Gryffindor feelings his family might have instilled in him over the years, Al spoke softly but clearly to his captor. "What are you going to do to me?"

Ignoring his question, the man reached out and prodded Al's head rather painfully. "You have the same hair and eyes as your horrid father." His hand moved to Al's forehead, pushing the hair away from it. "No scar though, and no glasses." His deep chuckle filled Al with apprehension. "That will not be the case for long."

He removed his hand from Al's head and began to search through a cloak pocket. The dim light in the room caught on the fabric of the garment for a moment, making the Slytherin green colour of the wool obvious. Al's mind began to churn then. Who could this man be? The voice was familiar, and Al knew he should be able to place it, but he couldn't think of a single Slytherin adult who hated him enough to have him kidnapped like this.

The hand clutched a glass potion flask when it withdrew from his cloak. Inside the bottle was a somewhat innocuous looking liquid, pale violet in colour. "This is for your eyes." He sat it on the table next to Al's ribs. Then he reached back into his cloak and pulled out a dagger. "This is for your scar."

When Al spoke this time, his voice cracked. "What are you going to do to me?

"Nothing much." He ran his finger along the blade of the dagger. When he pulled it away it was bleeding. "This knife is cursed. A cut from it cannot be healed completely. There will always be a scar." He moved it closer to Al's head. "It is just the thing to add a little lightning bolt to your head."

He let the dagger dangle over Al's forehead for a minute and watched the boy struggle to move away from it, and then he set it on the table next to the vial. "I'm not ready to scar you yet though."

"Why?" Al's voice trembled. "Why are you doing this?"

He picked up the vial and removed the rubber stopper. "You, of all Potter's children, look the most like him. I know that Potter adores his children more than his own life. So, I'm going to use you to get revenge on him. I am going to make you into a little Potter clone, and won't the media love that?"

He held the vial over Al's eyes and slowly began to pour it into them. The pain was unimaginable and Al screamed at the top of his lungs, thrashing within his bonds. The potion covered his face and flowed onto the table, but it only hurt where it had gotten into his eyes.

"The potion is meant to blind," the man said over Al's screams, "but it will not hurt skin or hair. Its effects are irreversible." He petted Al's hair. "I did weaken it somewhat, so you won't be completely blind. You should lose just enough eyesight that you will need glasses."

The pain was lessening, and Al's voice had gone raw from his screams. He gasped for breath, trying not to focus on the pain, but it was all consuming. "Please, please!" he whispered, begging for even a tiny bit of mercy.

"How I would have liked to hear you father say that to me even once…" He replaced the vial on the table and picked up the dagger. "It's too late though. Instead, I'll just have to listen to his son beg for mercy."

"Please…"

The dagger pressed against Al's forehead then. "Do not move. We would not want to slice open your whole face, now would we?"

The man continued to move the knife, pulling away a moment later and leaving behind a cut in the exact shape of Harry Potter's famous scar. Al's scream was piercing, but short. It cut off when he lost consciousness from the pain.

* * *

Ginny Portkeyed out of O'Hare International Airport's Wizarding Terminal only fifteen minutes before her arrival at the Ministry of Magic, but it felt like it had taken her hours to get there. She staggered out of the Portkey arrival area and collapsed onto a nearby seat. International Portkey was terribly nauseating.

When she stood a few minutes later she was still dizzy, but she pushed the feeling aside and headed towards her husband's office. The Ministry was flooded with people and it was hard for her to make her way through.

She bumped into a wizard who was casting a banner above the crowd. The spell was one George had created to use for advertisements. Instead of a message to "Buy All Your Prank Supplies at WWW," this one read, "Lock up the atrocities!" Similar signs floated above other people in the crowd.

When she tried to move away from the sign-speller, she stepped on the foot of a young witch. The woman turned to her and snarled.

"How can you set foot here after giving birth to that perversion of nature? How can you live knowing what kind of thing your son is?"

Ginny was startled by the vehemence in her voice but couldn't figure out what she was talking about. Then it dawned on her that these people were here to protest against Al. Al who was still missing, who might be dead.

"_Silencio_, you bitch!" she screamed at the young woman. The surrounding people turned at the spell and began shouting at her. The obscenities they yelled at her made her blood run cold. How dare they insult her and her family?

She hexed the people nearest her with a particularly strong Bat Bogey Hex and then cast a hasty _Protego _when people began casting back at her. The urge to laugh bubbled up inside her when the spells hit the other people in the crowd instead of her. People were sprouting purple feathers and orange tentacles, and all she could do was giggle madly.

"Aunt Ginny, come on." That was Teddy, in his Auror uniform, leading her through the crowd. There were employees of the Ministry out in the crowd now trying to calm the riot that had broken out.

Her giggles subsided as they left the main atrium, and she realised there were tears on her cheeks. "Teddy, I… where's Harry?"

"He's in his office. Come on." He took her through a passageway she had never been in before. It must have been one of the secret hallways built after the last war to help the Aurors pass through the building unnoticed. Within seconds, they were in the Auror offices, and there was Harry.

She ran to him and embraced him. "Oh, Harry. Al's… they were saying awful things about him. Don't they know he's in danger?"

He held her close and she could feel his heart beat against her cheek. "No, we haven't told anyone outside of the Aurors and Hogwarts. They'll find out soon, but we don't want the kidnapper to know that we have any kind of information."

"But the insults! They were insulting us." Ginny balled her hands into a fist and held back a sob. "I've never heard such horrible things directed at our family."

Harry rubbed her back and the motion slowly made her relax. "I know. I won't go out there anymore. I have the Aurors who aren't on a case keeping the crowd under control." She felt him turn slightly. "Teddy, thanks for bringing her here. I need you back out in the Atrium though."

"I understand Uncle Harry. We're stretched thin today." Ginny watched him walk away, his features morphing enough that he became unrecognisable.

"He's a good kid. He volunteered to work with the crowd even after they attacked him for his connection to Al. He simply put on a new face and headed back out there."

Ginny tried to smile, but couldn't. "Tonks and Remus would be proud."

"They would." Harry pulled away then and Ginny let him, though she felt bereft at the loss of contact. "Come on in to my office and I'll update you on what we know."

She settled into a chair with a cup of tea and an anti-nausea potion. Harry sat next to her and quickly brought her up to date.

"Right now we have Aurors canvassing half of the United Kingdom looking for any trace of Al. They've been told to keep an eye out for Higgs as well, especially because we don't believe he's going to keep Al for long. We are thinking he'll pass him off to whomever hired him."

"What leads do we have beyond Higgs?"

"We think it was probably someone with Death Eater connections who hired him, which only leaves the Malfoys, the Notts, and Goyle. We've checked up on the Notts and all of them have solid alibis for the past 48 hours, so while they might have hired Higgs, they haven't picked up Al yet, and we are keeping an eye on them. We've also spoken to Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, and Astoria, and none of them have truly solid alibis. We haven't tracked down Draco yet; Astoria says he's out of the country on a business trip, but we are afraid he's with Al somewhere. Goyle has disappeared off the face of the planet. No one has seen him in days."

Ginny's fingers drummed on the desk. "I wish I could be out there doing something! I hate sitting here and learning things and not knowing enough." Her eyes dropped to her hand and she forced it to still. "It feels like the war again."

Harry covered her hand with his. "I'm sorry. I want to be out there too. There's nothing we can do until we get a lead," he said.

"What about James and Lily? Do they know?"

"Yes. I Flooed James in Romania and let him know what was going on before he heard the wrong thing. Lily had already heard about it when I arrived at Hogwarts yesterday afternoon, but I took a minute to talk it over with her and calm her down. She said she'll let the other kids at Hogwarts know."

Ginny laughed. "That will keep her busy at least. She'll be too busy gossiping to worry."

The Intercom Box on Harry's desk began flashing rapidly. "It's news!" He leapt to answer it, smacking it none-too-gently with his wand.

"Harry, are you there?" Ron's voice came through clearly and Ginny knew from the tone that they had found something good.

"I'm here. What do you have to report?"

"We've got Higgs. He's drunk and mean, but we've got him in custody. We'll be Portkeying into the holding cells in five minutes."

Harry's eyes took on a menacing shine, a look Ginny had never liked on him before. Now she knew her own eyes looked the same.

"I'll be there to meet you." The conversation ended and Harry turned to Ginny with a malevolent grin on his face. "Would you like to help with the interrogation, dear?"

"I'd love to," she replied.

Harry took her down to the holding cells through the secret passages of the Ministry. She was amazed at how quickly they moved from place to place, until Harry admitted that the passages were made of condensed wizarding space to allow them to move through the building faster than they normally would. They arrived at the cells only seconds before the Aurors.

"Lemme go!" Higgs demanded. Ron had his wand trained on Higgs as he stepped away from him. The other two Aurors followed suit and the three of them slowly backed out of the cell. The door slammed shut and Ginny felt a tingle as the wards went up in it.

Harry moved to the bars of the cell and stared in at the prisoner. "We will let you go eventually, but right now I want to know where my son is."

Higgs sneered at him, but was too drunk to manage the expression properly, so he merely looked like he had smelled something rank. "That beast is locked up where he won't get into proper society."

"My son is not an animal, you son of a bitch! Tell me where the hell he is right now or I swear I'll transfigure your bloody head into a balloon and throw knives at it!" Ginny was not known for her calm temper: she was known for being as fiercely protective of her children as her own mother was. "Don't even tempt me, bastard!

Higgs wandered over to the door of the cell and stuck his tongue out at her.

"Damn it!" She yanked out her wand and cast an Engorgement Charm and a Numbing Hex. "You stick your tongue out at me one more time and I'll really make you regret it!"

Harry stood aside and let her fight with the man, but Ron wandered over and snatched her wand, undoing her charms before he could bite his tongue in half as she wanted.

"Sorry, Gin. We need him alive and well for questioning."

Higgs found his voice then. "I'm going to sue you! This is improper handling of a prisoner!"

Harry simply looked at him. "I'm the head of the Aurors. The sub-head of the Aurors, who also happens to be the husband of the head of Magical Law Enforcement, are standing next to me. If we say nothing went on here, then nothing went on here."

Higgs spluttered. "That's… that's illegal!"

"So is kidnapping someone," said Harry. Hermione stepped into the room then and moved next to her husband.

"Ha! Not if the student is one of those disgusting gays!"

Ginny glared at him. "My son is not disgusting, and being gay doesn't mean you can abduct someone."

Higgs shook his head. "Nuh-uh. Dr... the guy who hired me said there was a law that said you could do whatever you wanted to pillow-biters."

"Actually, that law was repealed years ago. It also never referred to abduction. Physical and mental injury was allowed, but not kidnapping." Hermione's lecture voice had never made Ginny so happy before.

"He told me I wasn't going to get into trouble! He lied to me!" Higgs sounded affronted by the idea.

"Who told you that you wouldn't get into trouble?" Harry's voice was hard.

"I'm not going to tell you! I got paid good money for this job! If I tell you he'll come and take it all back."

Hermione smiled. "Actually, according to subsection 23, paragraph 12 of the Illegal Activities section of the Laws of the Wizarding World stored in the Ministry archives, all illicitly gained materials and contraband are subject to seizure upon arrest. Thus the money belongs to the Ministry."

"You can't have it!"

Ron flicked his wand and a large moneybag sailed out of the cell and into his hands. "Are you willing to give up your information now?"

"Why should I? I'm not going to get anything out of it."

Hermione smirked then. "Do you know what the punishment is for kidnapping is?"

Higgs shook his head.

"The minimum sentence is five years in Azkaban. Lucky for you Al wasn't a minor; that has a minimum sentence of ten years. Both have a maximum sentence of thirty years." Her smirk grew wider. "And I can promise you that with Harry Potter, the Man Who Lived, against you, you _will _receive the maximum sentence."

Ginny was amused to see her brother pipe up as the "good" Auror. "If you agree to tell us everything you know, we can work with you to reduce your sentence to three years in Azkaban and two years of house arrest."

Higgs eyes moved back and forth between the husband and wife for a moment before chancing a glance at the glowering "Man Who Lived." He gulped.

"I'll tell you."

He paused and Ginny's frustration got the best of her.

"Speak up before I hex you again!"

"All right! All right! I was hired by Draco Malfoy to kidnap the kid."

Harry's eyes gleamed. "I'm going to kill him."

Ron managed to keep better control on his emotions and the situation. "Where are Malfoy and Al right now?"

"I don't know. I Portkeyed in and out of a dirty apartment building with the kid."

Hermione said, "The logical place to start would be to track down Malfoy then."

Everyone agreed, except for Higgs who was too busy grumbling to care, and they all headed to their offices to begin tracking down Malfoy. Hermione took Ginny to her office. Ginny wanted to be out there helping the Aurors, but she knew she would only get in the way.

"How are you doing, Ginny?" Hermione's gentle voice and offer of a cup of tea broke through Ginny's rage.

She sighed and accepted the cup gratefully. "I don't know. I feel like I can't think." She took a sip of the tea. "I got a Floo from Harry that Al had begun a new campaign for gay rights, and that Harry would handle it. The next thing I know my husband's Flooing me that our son might be dead, is definitely missing, and that I need to get back to England as soon as possible."

Hermione nodded. "We'll find him though. You know Harry, he'd destroy half of England if it meant saving someone he loved."

Ginny smiled wanly. "I'm just afraid that it might come down to that. Who knows where Al could be?"

* * *

Al couldn't see anything. He blinked a few times to try to clear his vision, but he couldn't see in the darkness. His captor shifted in his seat and Al startled at the rustle of his cloak.

"You are finally awake. Good."

Without his eyesight, Al was forced to use his other senses. He tried to use his hearing to figure out what the man was doing, but all he could tell was that he was moving.

"What are you going to do now?" Al's voice quaked in fear, but he couldn't bring himself to care. His head throbbed and his throat was raw from his screams. All he wanted was to curl up in a little ball, but the ropes that held him down wouldn't let him.

He stood and Al could feel him looming over him, even though he could not see him. "The law says I can do anything I want to you." Something prodded Al in his side and he tried to move away from it. It continued to jab him though and Al realised it was a wand.

"What are you talking about? What law?"

"There was a law created years ago that said I could punish a gay like you for being the disgusting pervert that you are. As long as I don't kill you, I can do whatever I want to hurt you."

Al knew immediately what law he meant. "That law was repealed though! It doesn't apply anymore. So, you can't hurt me, or they'll punish you."

"Stop lying! I'm older than you, and I know more than you." The wand was still jabbing into Al's side. "And now I'm going to hurt you."

Al panicked and asked the first question that came to mind. "Are you doing this because you hate me?"

"Not you."

"My father then. Why do you hate him?"

The wand withdrew. "He killed someone I cared about."

Al was surprised to hear utter despair in the man's voice. "Was it… your wife?"

The man stabbed the wand back into Al's side. "No! It was my best friend. He was the only person who knew everything about me and still liked me. And your father just left him to burn!"

If Al could keep the man talking, maybe he would not hurt him. "When did this happen?"

"It was the Battle of Hogwarts. Vince was only doing what he had been told to do. We had to get the Horcrux when your father and his friends swooped in and stole it. They knocked me unconscious and set the Room of Requirement on fire. Then they left Vince to burn."

Al recognized the man then. It was Goyle. Al had heard stories about Crabbe and Goyle, but Goyle's tale was nothing like his father's. "Are you sure that's how it happened?"

"Don't you dare contradict me!" Goyle's wand moved away for a moment, only to be shoved back into Al's side. "I learned this spell from Vince. Before your father_ killed him_."

"_Sectumsempra_," he whispered.

Again, Al's anguished screams filled the room, but he wasn't given the respite of unconsciousness. Instead, Goyle healed the wound in his side.

"You won't bleed to death. I don't want to go to Azkaban. But you'll scar, and there'll be pain." The wand moved to his chest. "_Sectumsempra_."

Over and over and over again he cast the spell, healing Al each time only to open a new wound elsewhere. The old wounds ached and Al knew that the healing on them wasn't complete, but he didn't care. His mind was too wracked with pain to focus on anything.

Again he cut Al open and healed him closed. "I will scar you. I will break you. I will show you what it means to be destroyed inside." Another cut, this time down the side of a leg.

The wounds crisscrossed his body now, covering every part of him Goyle could reach. They throbbed with every beat of Al's heart and screamed at the slightest movement.

"Please! Please…" Al moaned. The pain was too much to bear. He begged for mercy. "Please, I… please!"

"Please and sorry will not save you." A gash across his neck, just missing the large veins.

"What are…" A slice of his arm was peeled away and healed back into place. "No, stop, please!"

"You have the tenacity of a Slytherin, but I will break you. _Crucio_!"

Al writhed on the table. The pain made his muscles clench up. His arms and legs pulled helplessly at the ropes. Each movement irritated his new wounds and several that had been healed very lightly tore open again. Al wished he could pass out, wished he could escape, wished he could die, but the pain anchored him in place, the spell refusing to allow him the comfort of oblivion.

It felt like hours before Goyle released the spell, and when he did, Al collapsed into unconsciousness.

* * *

When Draco opened the door of his hotel room to a knock at seven in the morning, he was expecting to find a bellhop with breakfast.

Instead of finding a platter of pancakes and bacon, his guilty pleasure, he opened the door to a bevy of English and American Aurors.

"Draco Malfoy, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…" An American Auror proceeded to rattle off a list of rights as another Auror immediately spelled him into bindings.

Draco sighed and listened to his rights quietly. When the Auror trailed off, he piped up. "What exactly am I being charged with?"

This time an English Auror spoke. "You have been charged as an accessory to kidnapping," he said smugly.

"Kidnapping who?"

The Smarty-Pants English Auror snarled at him. "Albus Potter, of course."

Years as a Muggle-Wizard Liaison Lawyer had not prepared him for that sentence. "What are you on about?"

Smarty-Pants smirked at him. "I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to discuss the details of the investigation with you at this time. I'm just here to escort you back to English soil." The smirk grew. "I think you'll be pleased to know that Harry Potter himself will be handling your questioning."

Draco felt like slamming his head into the nearest available surface. "Damn."

The American Auror who bound him turned to Smarty-Pants. "We'll handle evidence collection with the help of your team members."

Smarty-Pants nodded. "All right. I'll transport him to England's Ministry of Magic then." He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and pressed the edge of it into Draco's hand. "_Portus_."

The next thing he knew, Draco was whirling away by an International Portkey.

When he arrived, he found himself in a maximum security holding cell deep within the Ministry. Smarty-Pants quickly moved away from Draco and closed the door of the cell before cancelling the binding spell.

Draco took a deep breath and moved over to the cot in the cell. Sinking down onto it he tried to regain his composure after the quick Portkey. His head was swimming.

"Where's my son?" Potter stood outside of the cell, his face as livid as it had been during one of their fights at Hogwarts.

Draco frowned. "I don't know."

Potter slammed his fist into the bars of the cell, making them shudder loudly. "Malfoy. Where. Is. My. Son?"

Draco sneered at him. "Potter! I. Don't. Know!"

Potter whipped out his wand then. "Do not mess with me. Where did you have my son kidnapped to?"

Draco wanted to stand and move to the bars to confront Potter, but his head was still incredibly dizzy. Instead he glared right at Potter. "I didn't kidnap him. I don't know how you came up with this idea, but I haven't even been in the country for a week." He snapped into lawyer mode. "I need to know what probable cause you have that allowed you to arrest me so suddenly." Hopefully Potter would not have enough evidence to hold him for long.

"The kidnapper came forward with your name as the man who paid him."

Well, damn. That was very obvious evidence.

"You're certain he didn't lie?"

Potter's face flushed. "Of course! We immediately had him sign the waiver and complete the Veritaserum test. He also signed away his rights to the memories of the crime, so we have experts going over the memories in Pensieves right now."  
Draco placed his elbows on his knees and rested his face in his hands. "I'll gladly take a Veritaserum test and give you my memories as well." His head was positively foggy. "Also, can I get some food? Your Aurors interrupted my breakfast."

Potter looked like he was going to burst. "My son has been missing for over 60 hours, and you want _food_?"

"My blood sugar is low. You are required to keep all prisoners healthy, especially those with medical needs like diabetes, under the Prisoner's Rights Act established in 2003 and amended in 2015."

Potter groaned, and Draco wanted to laugh at the sound. "This is why I hate arresting lawyers." He slammed his wand into an Intercom Box and barked at the person who answered to have some food delivered. "All right, your food is on the way. Now, you said you would undergo Veritaserum and give up your memory-rights, correct?"

"I'll give verbal agreement." He waited a moment while Potter activated a recording spell. "I, Draco Malfoy, hereby agree to allow questioning related to the charges I am under while under the influence of Veritaserum. I understand that I will be forced to tell the truth. I understand that anything I say can be used for or against me. I understand that I risk injury by allowing this, and agree to the questioning on the basis that the Ministry of Magic will provide Medi-Wizards to monitor my wellbeing at all times. I, Draco Malfoy, hereby allow the Ministry of Magic access to my memories which pertain to the time during which this crime is alleged to have been committed. I will provide the memories to be Pensieved when requested by the Ministry. I understand that I will lose the ability to access the memories until a complete and accurate copy has been created by the Ministry." He gave up trying to sit up in the bed and flopped down onto his back. Laying there, he took a deep breath before asking, "Is that good enough?"

Potter ended the recording spell and nodded. "Thank you."

Draco sighed deeply. "It's all right. I've a boy too. I understand. Gotta get this done quick. I've an important meeting in New York City today."

Potter nodded. "All right. Thank you for cooperating." Potter smiled a little sadly. "I'm hoping you didn't do it. Scorpius was crushed when your name came up on the suspects list."

Draco waved him away. "Whatever, Potter. I didn't do it. Now, go fetch me some food so I have the energy to answer your questions."

Snorting loudly, Potter left the room outside of the cell, leaving Draco alone. Draco groaned and covered his eyes with an arm. Jeeze. Get involved with a crazy megalomaniac's plan for world domination when you are sixteen and you automatically end up on every suspect list for the next thirty years.

Draco was surprised at how quickly Potter had cooled off though. Maybe the man had finally figured out how to use his brain properly.

The door to the room outside of his cell slammed open. "Oi! Princess Malfoy, your food's here!"

"Nice to see you too, Weasel."

Draco pulled his arm away from his eyes and watched Weasley blush dark red. "Shut up! Come get your food. You better eat quick; the Veritaserum questioning has just been okayed. We'll be administering the potion in a little over fifteen minutes."

Draco blinked rapidly. Damn. When the "Man Who Lived" wanted something done, it got done _fast_. It usually took hours, if not days, to get Veritaserum questioning permits. He stood and walked over to the door. Looking at the plate, he cringed. "Who decided that dry toast and an apple was suitable fare?"

Weasley shrugged. "I dunno." He turned and left without another word.

Did they not teach manners in Gryffindor Tower? Draco poked at his toast for a moment before picking it up and biting it. Ugh, it was stale as well. Honestly, this was simply not right. Accusing an innocent man and then torturing him with horrid food had to break some law. Draco would be looking into this as soon as he was released.

Draco found himself wondering then exactly why he was locked up. Someone had come forward with the information that he had Albus Potter kidnapped. That bit made sense, but why had they chosen to kidnap Albus in the first place? Draco hadn't spent much time around the boy, but Scorpius was close to him and seemed to think he was all right. He wanted to know why, know more, so that he could solve the case. As it was, he had no idea what the motive would be or why the kidnapper had chosen this time to attack Albus.

As he munched on his dry toast, Draco considered what he knew about Albus. He was a seventh year, like Scorpius. He was reportedly popular in school, regardless of his "Slytherin Pride" obsession. _That _was something that could have caused Albus to be kidnapped. No proper Slytherin went about fighting for their rights in public arenas like that. It just wasn't _done_. The Slytherin Pride movement had long ago faded away though. There was no reason for someone to kidnap Albus over that. So why?

The door outside of his cell slammed open, and a blur of light hair and dark robes launched itself at the cell bars. "Father, please tell me you didn't do it! There's no way that you kidnapped Al! Is there?"

"Nice to see you too, Scorpius. It is indeed a lovely day outside."

Scorpius rolled his eyes at him. "It's pouring buckets. Did you do it?"

Draco fought the temptation to roll his eyes back. "I haven't been allowed outside of this cell since I touched English soil. Forgive me if I don't know the weather."

"Did you do it?" asked Scorpius.

"No! Of course not! Why on earth would I have kidnapped your friend?"

"Well, you are always talking about how being gay is unnatural..."

Draco quirked an eyebrow at his son. "And that applies to the kidnapping how?"

Scorpius sighed deeply then. "I knew you didn't do it!"

"I know, you know, we all know I didn't do it. What I don't know is what homosexuality has to do with me being locked up in a cell." Draco crossed his arms, surreptitiously brushing toast crumbs off his robes before Scorpius saw them.

"Al came out to the wizarding world. The Aurors think he was kidnapped because of that."

Draco nodded slowly. Yes, that probably would have been enough to infuriate some person enough to kidnap him. But who?

"Why did Potter decide to come out? Surely he realized that he would be putting himself at risk," Draco pondered out loud, more to air out his thoughts than to actually speak.

Scorpius replied anyway. "Um... he was... fighting for rights. So he could... um, marry his boyfriend one day."

Draco had been a lawyer for almost twenty years. He knew what stumbling over words meant. Scorpius had just told him much more than what his words had said. Draco looked at his son hard. The boy was sweating a little, and his breathing was rather harsh. When he nervously reached up to brush the hair out of his eyes, his hand was trembling.

This was _way _too much information to process in one day if Draco's suspicions were true.

Careful not to stumble over his own words, Draco asked, "Who is his boyfriend?"

And there! A blush was spreading across Scorpius's cheeks. Draco wanted to groan and moan and shriek at the unfairness of it all. He had begun to think that perhaps Scorpius was a bit... bent, but the fact that he and Potter's kid were planning marriage was throwing Draco for a loop. A very, very _large _loop.

Taking a deep breath, Draco took a moment to compose a reply. "Was I to be invited to your wedding then?"

Scorpius looked astonished. "But, I didn't... how did you know?"

Draco pushed his food to the side and stood to approach his son. Scorpius flinched a little as he grew closer. Pushing an arm between the bars of his cell, he ruffled his son's hair. "I know you too well. Besides, you have never mentioned a girlfriend. I was getting suspicious."

Scorpius looked at him, and Draco wondered where his little boy had gone. They were the same height now. He pulled his hand away from his son's hair, feeling a little lost, as if he was touching a stranger. Then Scorpius started to sob.

"Al's gone! I don't know what to do. And they've got you under suspicion, and they went and questioned Mum and Grandfather and Grandmother. They don't trust us, and Al's gone..."

Draco fought a smile as Scorpius cried so hard his shoulders shook. His little boy still had some growing to do after all.

"Scorpius, it will be okay. I promise."

Scorpius wailed, "But how do you know?"

"Albus is the son of 'The Chosen One,' and if I know Potter, he won't leave any stone unturned until he finds his son. I'll be out of here soon, and then everything will be all right." Draco watched as his son slowly calmed at his words. "Now, pull yourself together. You are a Malfoy; where is your dignity?"

Scorpius laughed lightly.

Draco sighed overdramatically then. "Still, of all the boys in Hogwarts, why did you have to pick a Potter? There's Jimmy Nott or Toby Morley or—"

Scorpius smiled sadly. "Al's my best friend."

Draco continued on light-heartedly. "That's hardly a good reason. Greg and Vince were my best friends, and I didn't marry them."

Grimacing, Scorpius groaned. "Honestly, Dad, I did _not _need the mental image of you in a threesome."

Draco blanched. "That is not what I meant!"

Scorpius chuckled, and Draco could see he was forgetting about the predicament slightly. "Sure. Just keep your sexual fantasies to yourself, _please_."

Oh, to be seventeen again, when the only thing you thought about was sex. Well, most seventeen year olds thought about sex. Draco had been busy worrying over Dark Lords, Death Eaters, and Potter. Alright, he had been trying to figure out how to get Pansy into his bed too, but still! Draco was just glad that his son had been able to live a normal life as a normal kid.

He joked around with Scorpius for a few more minutes when the door opened and Potter entered with three Aurors Draco did not recognise and the Weasel.

Scorpius spun around to face him. "Have you found Al yet?"

Weasley shook his head. "Not yet, sorry." Scorpius's shoulders drooped.

One of the other Aurors stepped forward, a blonde woman. "Draco Malfoy, we are ready to begin questioning you under Veritaserum now." Draco nodded, and she continued. "Please step away from the door of your cell."

Draco moved back to his bed, and only started slightly when a male Auror spelled bindings around him. The cell door clicked open then, and the female Auror stepped inside. She withdrew a tiny vial from her robes and, once Draco had opened his mouth, poured the three drops that were inside of it onto his tongue. The sensation of falling under a compulsion repelled Draco immediately. Veritaserum's effects were far too much like Imperius for Draco's comfort.

"State your full name please," the blonde asked. She was obviously going to be the main questioner.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy."

"Where were you this past Wednesday evening?"

"New York City." He hid a smirk as the woman rolled her eyes.

"Why were you in New York City and how long were you there?"

Draco's mouth was spitting out the words before he could even think. "I was at a business conference for Muggle-Wizard Liaison Lawyers. I arrived in New York the Tuesday before that at 7:23 AM, and I was forcibly removed from New York at 7:03 AM this morning."

"Did you leave the city at any time before that?"

"I left the city once to visit a mall in New Jersey."

"Why?"

Draco blushed lightly. "I was picking up a present for my wife."

The questioner rolled her eyes. "Very well. When was the last time you spoke with Terrence Higgs?"

"June 13, 2017, when he took me out for dinner as a thank you for saving his butt in court."

"Have you had any type of contact with him since then?"

"No."

The woman frowned. "Have you contacted him through someone else since then?"

"No."

"Did you pay someone to kidnap Albus Potter or to arrange the kidnapping?"

"No."

The frown grew. "Did you participate in the kidnapping of Albus Severus Potter in any way?"

"No."

Scorpius smiled brightly. "See! I knew he didn't do it!"

Weasley put a hand on Scorpius's shoulder and shook his head, and Scorpius subsided.

"Tell us everything you know about the kidnapping."

"Albus Severus Potter was kidnapped."

"You don't know anything else?" The woman looked a little lost.

"That is the only fact I know." Draco didn't offer up the information his son had shared with him. None of that was a fact, as far as Draco was concerned. He only had his son's word to go on, and that could easily by untrue.

The questioner sighed and turned to Potter. "I have no more questions."

Potter nodded "All right. Please administer the counter-potion then, and we'll begin the memory extraction."

Scorpius jolted. "Why do you need his memories? He already said he didn't do it!"

Weasley squeezed his shoulder gently. "If his memories have been changed, he can lie and say that he didn't do it, even under Veritaserum. We have to examine the memories for tampering before he can be cleared."

Scorpius nodded minutely and didn't say anything. The questioner administered the counter-potion and stepped out of the cell, allowing the two unknown male Aurors to enter. One held a large vial in his hand, which he unsealed.

"We will be removing the memories from two days before the kidnapping until your arrival in this cell," one of the men muttered. He pushed his wand up to Draco's temple, and Draco focused on the memories in question. As they slowly faded out of his consciousness, the wand moved away from his head towards the vial. The silvery memories filled the clear glass almost to the top. "Thank you for your cooperation."

Draco nodded, a little dizzy from the after-effects of Veritaserum and the sudden feeling he had lost something, namely his memories. The men left the cell, shutting the door behind him, and Draco was released from his bonds.

Potter nodded at him, and then led the Aurors Draco did not know out. Weasley stayed behind for a moment. "We'll be done with this soon. You can stay here till then, Scorpius." Scorpius nodded and then he left too.

The solid surface of the bed was steadying when Draco sunk down to sit on it. He cleared his throat, and shook his head to clear away the vertigo he was experiencing. "Well, there's nothing to do but wait."

* * *

Scorpius laughed at his father's joke, and then he felt guilty. Al could be dead somewhere, and Scorpius was laughing. He was an awful boyfriend. He didn't even deserve to be called that.

"What is it?" his father asked quietly.

Scorpius shook his head, and his father simply nodded in reply. Scorpius was grateful; he didn't feel like talking about Al.

He was sitting on the floor with his legs crossed, and he pulled them up to his chest so he could prop his chin up on his knees. What was Scorpius doing? He should be out there looking for Al.

What could he do though? He hadn't even been able to save Al from being kidnapped in the first place.

Suddenly the room felt too confining, as if Scorpius was the one locked up, instead of his father. He stood and stretched. Then he turned to his father. "I need to go see if I can help."

His father glared at him. "Don't go gallivanting off on your own. I don't want them dragging you home in pieces."

Scorpius gave him a wan smile. "I won't, promise."

"All right then. Get out of here."

"I'll see you soon, Dad. They'll let you out." His father waved him off, and Scorpius left. He headed for the Auror offices, anxious to know what was going on. When he arrived, the place was crazy.

He saw Mr. Weasley across the main room, and went to talk to him. "What's going on?" he asked.

Mr. Weasley pointed at one section of the room, "They are working on a murder case from yesterday, a young woman found dead in Knockturn," then to another section, "They've just started investigating a call that came in about Muggle's being attacked in downtown London," and then to another section, "And they've got a lead on an older rape case." Then he gestured to the few people around him. "And we are working on Al."

"Wouldn't it be better if everyone was working on Al's case?" Scorpius asked. "We have to find him soon."

Mr. Weasley shook his head. "Every case is important. Harry can't show favouritism by assigning all of the Aurors to his son's case. He does have some of the best working on it though, and all leads are being followed immediately. So don't worry, we have it more than covered."

Scorpius shrugged. "If you say so." He looked over the papers on the table in front of them. "What's all this?"

"Various things we know about the case. I like to write it all out on papers so I can rearrange it and try to connect clues."

Scorpius noticed one blue slip of paper was stacked on top of a pink slip. The blue slip read "Malfoy innocent according to his Veritaserum. Memories passed tests." He pushed the slip to the side, and read the one underneath. "Malfoy guilty according to Higg's Veritaserum test. Memories passed test."

"What do these two mean?" he asked Mr. Weasley.

The man looked where he was pointing. "Ah. Unfortunately, that's the biggest problem we are having with the case. Higg's definitely met Malfoy and was hired by him. He said so under Veritaserum, and his memories say the same thing. Yet, your dad says he didn't do it, and his memories agreed. None of the memories are false, so we are at a loss."

How odd. Scorpius knew his dad didn't do it, so why did it look like he did? "Maybe Higg's is confused. He could have just met someone who looked similar to my dad."

"No, he definitely met Malfoy. I saw the memories myself. It looked exactly like him." Mr. Weasley's face lit up suddenly. "That's it!"

"What?" Scorpius asked as Mr. Weasley began shuffling around papers on the table.

"It looked like Malfoy, but we can't prove from the memories that it was him, because his memories don't match. Which means that the one who looked like Malfoy wasn't actually Malfoy."

Scorpius was completely lost. "What?"

"It was a glamour or Polyjuice! Of course!" He shuffled through the papers some more. "Who could it have been? The Notts have alibis and all the Malfoys have willingly undergone Veritaserum questioning now, so Goyle is the only one we haven't talked to..." He turned to Scorpius, his eyes slightly wild. "Does your father have contact with Gregory Goyle?"

"Yeah, but what does—"

Mr. Weasley cut him off with a cry of delight. "It must be him then. He's Polyjuiced himself into Malfoy. It's the only thing that makes sense." The light in his eyes dimmed. "But he doesn't have a motive."

Scorpius thought about the dark and hulking man who periodically visited his father. Scorpius had never been overly comfortable around him, especially after he became friends with Al, because he was always ranting about Harry Potter. "Um, if it helps... I think he hates Mr. Potter." Scorpius could easily bring to mind the memories of his shouts about how Mr. Potter had killed Vincent Crabbe. His father always tried to tell Mr. Goyle that Crabbe had killed himself in the end, but Scorpius could not remember a time when Mr. Goyle had agreed with him.

"And he hates gays too." Scorpius had heard him badmouthing homosexuals many times. It was one of the reasons he had been afraid to come out. He had thought that his father felt the same way. Finding out that his father was all right with it had been the only good thing about this ordeal.

Mr. Weasley nodded vigorously. "Of course! Al comes out and Goyle figures he can revenge himself on Harry by attacking his son. That has to be it..." He reached out and tapped the Intercom Box that was fixed to the wall. "Harry! I've figured it out!" He related his thoughts to Mr. Potter.

Mr. Potter's voice came through the box clearly. "I think you're right. I'll get someone to start a check on his Gringott's account and on his properties list. Hopefully we'll figure out where he's at."

Mr. Weasley agreed and shut off the Box. He turned to Scorpius with a grin. "I think this is really it. Al will be back here safe and sound soon."

Scorpius nodded, still feeling a little lost, and hoped that Mr. Weasley was right.

* * *

Al had been shuddering under the Cruciatus curse yet again when the door flew open, flooding the room with light and Aurors.

"_Expelliarmus_!" someone shouted, and Goyle's wand flew out of his hand.

"_Incarcerous_," called out another voice.

Al watched as Goyle was bound up in seconds. "You can't do this!" Goyle screamed. "The law says I can hurt him! You can't take me!"

Goyle was still screaming as the Portkeyed him out of the room. Al didn't recognise the Aurors who untied him from the table, or at least he couldn't tell who they were from the blurry shapes that his eyes seemed to see. He tried to ask them where his dad was. All that came out of his abused throat was a groan. Al swallowed, trying to talk, but his throat was too raw. He hadn't had a proper drink of water in days, and the screams had ripped his throat up.

A large male Auror scooped him up gently, and a woman patted him on the head gently. "Don't worry," she said. "We are here to take you to St. Mungo's. I'm sure your dad and mum will meet us there."

Al tried to nod, but the flexing of his muscles set off a chain reaction, and before he knew it, his whole body was shaking. He wanted to stop, but tensing his muscles only seemed to make it worse. The Auror holding him hugged him closer, and suddenly they were Apparating away. He wasn't sure when they arrived at St. Mungo's because he passed out.

He woke to noisy sobs. Al opened his eyes and blinked to try to clear them. It was too bright and his eyes hurt. They didn't want to focus either. Everything was too blurry. Al tried to move his head and he passed out again.

The next time he woke up, he couldn't open his eyes. There was something on them that kept them from moving. He tried to reach up and feel for what it was, but the muscles in his arm refused to cooperate. In fact, he couldn't make any of the muscles in his body move. His chest was moving, and he could feel his heart beating, so he couldn't be dead. He continued to try to move some part of his body: a finger, a toe, his nose. The effort fatigued him, and again he fell unconscious.

Voices flooded his brain even when it felt like he was asleep. He heard his mother crying, and his father gruffly comforting her. Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron brought his siblings and cousins to visit one day, and he heard all of their voices, overlapping in his head. Someone quiet visited alone. Albus could hear them moving around the room, looming over him for a minute before backing away. A quietly whispered goodbye identified the person as Scorpius. The healers and medi-wizards were in and out of the room all of the time, their voices sharp and normal against the sobs and whispers.

The first time Al really woke up, his mother was in the room crying again. She was sitting next to the bed, and her head was laid next to Al's arm. He couldn't see her, but he could feel her warmth and hear her sobs. He reached out to touch her head, bumping into her nose before he was able to bury his hand in her hair.

She gasped. "Al?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but only a croak came out. He cleared his throat and broke into a hacking fit.

"Thank Merlin, you're awake!" She stood then, the air whooshing around her as she moved. A bell went off, and his mother moved away from the bed. She was back in a few seconds, pushing a straw into Al's mouth. He took a small sip and choked on the water, causing yet more coughing.

"Oh, dear." A healer entered the room, her voice one of the ones Al had heard as he slept. "That's some awful coughing. Let me try... this." A glass or a vial of some sort was pressed against Al's lower lip, and his head was tilted back. He reflexively swallowed the liquid that poured into his mouth and felt immediate relief as the pain that seared the back of his throat disappeared. His coughs continued for only a few more moments.

"Mum," he finally managed to croak out.

"I'm here." She reached out to brush aside some of his hair. Al could feel her hand caressing his cheek, and the hair tickled his ear as she tucked it back.

"Where?"

Her hand withdrew from his face and grasped his hand. "You're in St. Mungo's. You've been here for a week now."

He was frustrated by the fact that he couldn't see her, and he reached up to pull away the thing covering his eyes. His mom caught his other hand.

"Don't do that sweetie."

"I can't see," Al whined.

His mom squeezed his hands. "I know, and I'm sorry. The bandages are to help your eyes heal though, so you can't take them off."

Goyle had said they couldn't be healed. "Heal?" he asked her, hoping she could understand. He didn't think he could explain everything yet.

"The healers found out that you were blinded by a potion, and they think they can give you back some of your vision. I'm afraid you won't get all of it back though."

Al was just glad they would be able to give him back some of his sight. He had been afraid that he would be blind. "Scar? Head?"

His mother's hand shook slightly. "That's permanent," she murmured.

If Al had been able to move properly, he would have shrugged. As it was, he was already feeling exhausted. The coughing fit had taken a lot of energy. "S'okay..." he mumbled as he fell back asleep.

He felt much better the next time he woke up. Without even thinking about it, he reached up to scratch his forehead. As his fingers touch it, he realized it was the scar was itchy. The wound had healed, but the scar tissue prickled as he touched it. He ran one fingertip over it, slowly tracing the design, and he realized it did feel exactly like his father's scar. Al dropped his hand.

His eyes were still covered in a bandage, so Al tried to figure out what was happening through sounds. He could hear muffled voices, and there was a thump every few seconds that sounded like a door. The voices were getting closer to his door with every thump. Finally his door opened, and the voices came through clearly.

"You check his vital signs, and I'll administer the medications," a woman said. She was on his left side, and he felt her brush up against the bed. The other person moved to the other side of the bed, and Al had the feeling that a spell was being cast. A moment later his body prickled from his toes through his legs and his torso and then up to his head and down to his fingers.

"Vital signs look fine, but his heart rate is elevated." It sounded like a man.

Al spoke up then. "I'm awake."

One of them shrieked, and it didn't sound like the woman, to Al's amusement.

"Oh, good," the woman said and touched his arm. "We were getting worried about you, young man. How do you feel?"

Al rubbed his throat. "Sore."

"Yes, of course. I'll fix that..." For a moment, there was the sound of tinkling glass before a vial was pressed to his mouth, and Al swallowed obediently.

The potion inside of it coated his throat, cooling it. Al took a deep breath, grateful that it didn't hurt. "That's better." He struggled to sit up then, feeling slightly vulnerable lying down.

"Here, let me help." The man's voice came from the foot of the bed, and Al started. He hadn't realised the man had moved. Then the bed began to shift under Al, and he cried out. "I'm sorry, I should have explained. I'm adjusting the bed so you can sit up."

Al accepted the knowledge quietly, feeling silly for having been spooked by something so small. Part of the bed slowly rose, pushing Al along with it, until Al was sitting up somewhat.

"What time is it?" Al asked.

The woman answered, "It's almost eight in the morning. Visiting hours are about to start, and I'm sure you'll have someone here to see you soon."

Al immediately wished that his mother was with him. He remembered that she had been there when he woke up last time. Being unable to see was making him feel lost and alone, even with two people in the room.

"I'm going to see how well your wounds are healing now, okay?" The man was back at Al's side then.

Al nodded in agreement, and waited for the prickling feeling to return. Instead, he felt a wand poke his chest, in the same way Goyle's wand had every time he cast Sectumsepra. Al fell into the memories without meaning to, feeling the wand poking against his side, hearing the whispered spell, and then screaming soundlessly as the pain ripped through him. He shrieked aloud, jolting away from the wand, and bumping into the side of his bed. Someone touched him, probably the woman, and Al cried out, pulling away from the hand.

"No, please, stop. Leave me alone!"

He knew he wasn't in the dark room with Goyle. He couldn't help feeling like he was still trapped in the room though. It was dark, he couldn't see through the bandages, and the wand had prodded him. His whole body tensed up, waiting for pain that never came.

The man was speaking, but Al couldn't tell what he was saying. The woman's voice drifted through his head, but he didn't understand. Al wasn't sure of anything anymore. His body was beginning to ache from being tensed up, and the muscles were vibrating softly. There was movement in the room. He felt his muscles begin to shudder, and then he was shaking all over. A hand grabbed his throat. Al screamed and gagged as something was poured down his throat. The hand moved away, but Al continued to scream until he passed out.

He came to in a room full of people. He could tell by the voices. There was the anxious rumble of his father, the worried high pitch of his mother, and the normal, calming voices of the healers. Al cried out for his mother when he recognised her, and she was at his side in an instant. His father was right behind her. Al could sense them, but neither of them touched him.

"Mum, what's going on?"

"You had a break down and we don't know why. Can you tell us what happened?"

The feeling of the wand prodding his side flooded Al's mind. "It was the wand. It poked me, and I wasn't expecting it." He paused, took a deep breath and continued. "Goyle did that whenever he cast a spell, poked me with the wand, I mean."

His mum gasped, and his dad cursed loudly.

"I... Mum, Dad... can I hold a hand?" Al felt like a baby for asking, but without the able to see or feel them, it felt like they were so far away.

"Oh, Al!" His mother's hands clasped one of his, and his father took hold of the other hand.

"We didn't want to touch you. The healers told us you got upset when the medi-wizards touched you."

Al shook his head. "No, it was the wand."

His mother ran her hand over his cheek, and Al leaned into her touch. "We won't let them do it again. Poor baby..."

Al frowned in her direction. "I'm not a baby!"

His father actually had the audacity to laugh at him.

"What? I'm not!"

Then both of his parents were crying, and Al didn't know why. He waited until they calmed down, and asked them what was going to happen to him next.

"The healers told us that you'll probably be here for another two weeks while they heal your eyes. The rest of your wounds are almost gone, and they've completed the post-Cruciatus potion treatment already. The Headmistress has promised to help you catch up on your class work, and Scorpius is keeping tabs of the homework and notes in all of your classes." His father spoke quietly, but firmly, and Al felt like things were almost normal.

"And will I be... okay?"

His dad squeezed his hand. "You have some bad scarring on your torso, back and thighs. They were able to heal most of the scarring on your arms, lower legs and face, aside from the scar on your forehead."

Al nodded. He had known the lightning bolt would be permanent.

"Most of the muscle scarring from the Cruciatus has also been healed. You'll probably always suffer from random muscle tremors though, especially if you try to do any exercising. I'm afraid Quidditch is going to be impossible."

Al's heart sank a little. He had always adored Quidditch, even though he hadn't been good enough to play on the House team.

"Your eyes will... well, we aren't sure how your eyes will heal. The potion was meant to blind you by destroying the tissues of your cornea, but Goyle said he tampered with it to try to dilute it. The healers think that because of this, not all of the tissue was destroyed, so now they are trying to re-grow it from what's left. You might never get all of your sight back, but the healers say you'll be able to see light and dark, shapes and perhaps colours too." His dad's voice dropped off when Al didn't reply.

Oh. Well, Al had been hoping for more than that. When his mother told him they were healing his eyes, he thought it meant he would simply have bad vision like his dad. Only being able to see light and dark was almost as bad as being completely blind.

His mother squeezed his hand so hard it hurt. "Don't worry though, love. We'll help you through this. You can do it."

Al tried to smile. "Yeah, I can do it."

He didn't really think he could though. When the healers came in and informed him of all of the details of his injuries, Al thought he was going to be sick. He didn't know how to feel besides slightly nauseous. He wasn't sure whether he was sad or happy that his injuries were as insignificant as they were. They still existed, so how could he be happy? Yet, he still had his life and was mostly unharmed, so how could he be sad?

His parents stayed with him until he fell asleep. He woke up later with a jolt, his heart racing suddenly and his ears attuned to any movements.

The sound of a door shutting echoed in the room, and Al decided that the door opening must have startled him awake.

Footsteps crossed the room slowly, and Al had the image of Goyle stalking around the table invade his head. Stifling a scream, Al reminded himself that he was safe in St. Mungo's. He snapped his head towards the footsteps and demanded, "Who's there?"

The footsteps stilled. "It's me," a voice said, and Al started to smile. "Um, Scorpius, that is."

Al's smile stretched into a wide grin. "I'm blind, not deaf. I think I can recognise my own boyfriend's voice."

The footsteps raced towards him suddenly, and the next thing he knew, Al had a sobbing Scorpius draped over his lap.

"Merlin, Al, I thought you might be dead. I couldn't do anything; I couldn't help anyone, and you might have been dead somewhere." Al stroked Scorpius's hair quietly. In almost seven years of knowing him, Al had never seen Scorpius cry, no matter how hard he crashed playing Quidditch or how many blokes bullied him for being a "Death Eater's kid." Al was at a loss for words.

"I tried to help, and I told them everything, even about how we snuck out. The Headmistress gave me a month of detentions, and Mr. Weasley said they would find you, and then they blamed my dad. It wasn't him though. I knew it wasn't him, and I had to save you and protect him, and I still didn't know if you were dead."

"I couldn't do it though. I couldn't put the pieces together like Mr. Weasley did, and my father was the one to save himself. I did nothing, and I'm sorry, Al. I'm so, so sorry."

Scorpius lay there, gasping for breath around random sobs, and Al realised that everything had been worth it. Scorpius was worth it.

"I don't care. I'm safe, and I have you, and I'm happy." Al traced his fingers down the edge of Scorpius's jaw. "Everything is okay now."

He could feel Scorpius's frown under his fingertips. "It's not okay though. I was a failure. I couldn't do anything!"

"You didn't need to do anything. I don't know what all happened, but they figured it out, and they saved me. That's all that is important."

It was odd that Al was the one who had been hurt, and yet Scorpius was the one who was upset. Yet, Al thought it made sense. That was who they were. Scorpius had always felt things more deeply than Al. He had been the one to fall in love first, the one to silently stand by Al and support his Slytherin Pride campaign even though he thought it was stupid, and the one to simply grin when Al kissed him on the day Al finally opened his eyes and truly saw Scorpius. Al responded to insults with a hex or a punch and then forgot about them, but Scorpius took them and ruminated on them until they festered and Al would find him staring blankly at a wall, his broken heart written on his face. Al was action; Scorpius was emotion.

Moreover, that was why he loved him. People claimed that Al was the passionate one, the driven one, but he wasn't. Scorpius was private with his emotions, but when he shared them, Al always felt like he was being swept away by a tidal wave. It was perfection.

"You had to go through so much though... if I had done something sooner you wouldn't have had to go through that!"

Al stopped stoking Scorpius's hair to smack him gently upside the head. "Oh, shut up."

Scorpius made an irritated snorting-huff sound, and Al laughed.

"You're a kid. I'm a kid. An adult decided to pick on me and we were powerless against him." Al was making this up off the top of his head, blurting out whatever nonsense came to mind, but it made sense. "We can't be expected to defend ourselves against adults. Our parents fought adults when they were our age, even killed them, but it was just insane. You can't expect yourself to be as strong as they are because expectations like that are just crazy." Al had tried to fight back, and during the lucid moments of the torture, he had felt like a failure for not being able to escape, but that was just silly really. "I couldn't protect myself, but that's okay. One day we will be adults, and then you can worry yourself sick about being powerless or whatnot."

Scorpius pulled himself off Al's legs. "I love you. I missed you."

"Me too," said Al, and then Scorpius was leaning over his head, and Al could feel Scorpius's breath against his lips. "Kiss me?"

Scorpius did. Al cherished the feelings, pushing away the memories of Goyle's hand, his knife, his wand, and replacing them with the feel of Scorpius's hair on his cheek, his chapped lips against Al's own, and his tears falling onto Al's face. It felt like everything was normal, like everything was going to be all right.

Al was the one who broke the kiss, pulling away a little breathless. "It will be okay," Al said aloud.

"Will it?" Scorpius asked quietly. "Will it ever be all right again?"

"It will. I can get over this, and I can win us our rights. Then everything will be fine."

Scorpius froze. "Al, no. You can't keep up this fight. You'll get hurt!" Scorpius's body was still, but his voice was full of emotions.

Al said, "I won't get hurt. I'll learn how to protect myself. But I need to get the laws changed, for us."

"You can't!" Scorpius protested. "You can't... at least... not alone."

It really was worth it, everything. "Then we'll do it together."

Scorpius laid his head on Al's shoulder and sighed deeply. "All right."

Al leaned his head on Scorpius's. "We can do it." He really believed it. Al didn't know if he could do it alone, but with Scorpius at his side, everything would be fine.


	2. PART II

PART II

"I can't do this!"

Severus raised an eyebrow at his shouting pupil, and Albus subsided.

"I'm sorry, Severus. I'm just frustrated. I don't know what I'm supposed to do at this point..."

Severus hovered next to him, peering over his shoulder to see what he was working on. "If you were to stir the potion with a silver ladle at this point, what would occur?"

"The grey should fade away to black, right?" Albus sat at an old and dusty desk in the middle of the Shrieking Shack. Parchment and potions books were spread out across the desktop in front of him.

Severus nodded and watched his student include the information in his notes. He had been helping Albus Potter study for his potions N.E.W.T. since the boy had been released from St. Mungo's after a month of recovery. Even though he had been working with him for almost three weeks, his new looks still startled Severus.

Thick, black-rimmed spectacles perched on his nose and the boy's hair was just as messy as his father's ever was. With the new scar on his forehead and his bright green eyes, Al looked exactly like his father as a teenager. It was disconcerting to say the least.

He forced his thoughts away from other, far more feminine family members whom Albus had inherited the features from. "Do not forget to add the dried pixie wings immediately after the potion darkens. The point of the potion is to keep cancer from metastasizing. If the pixie wings get too hot their effects are negated completely, and the potion will not make it through the body's immune system to the cancerous site." Albus seemed to space out and the vacuous look on his face brought Ronald Weasley to mind. Apparently, the boy had managed to inherit some of his mother's genes as well. "Albus, what are the general effects of pixie wings in medicinal potions?" he barked at him.

The boy started, and the hand holding his quill shuddered. "Pixie wings suppress the natural auto-immune system response and act as an anti-inflammatory and an anti-histamine," he answered quickly.

The answer was correct, but the boy's attention was still not focused on Severus. "Is something wrong?"

Albus picked his quill up from the page and dipped it in his inkwell, his eyes following its movement instead of looking at Severus. "No, everything is fine." He removed the quill from the ink, but his hand jerked and knocked the whole inkwell over. "Bugger."

Severus rolled his eyes. "Language, please." The boy clumsily spelled away the mess. "And do stop lying to me, Albus Potter. I don't appreciate being told falsehoods."

"Why do you call me Albus? And why don't you call me Albus Severus if you are saying my whole name?" Severus knew he was trying to change the subject, but he followed the tangent for a moment anyway.

"Albus Dumbledore was a great man who deserves to have his memory carried on in other people. Your name will always serve as a reminder that he was a good man whom others loved. I, on the other hand, have never considered myself worthy of having anyone named after me." He rather felt like he was laying himself open for ridicule by telling Albus that, but he was fond of the boy. Too fond, if truth were to be told. He had never been one for human contact when he was alive, but he found that death was far too lonely when one was a ghost trapped in a shack. Even the Hogwarts ghosts still refused to enter the shack.

Albus was the only person who ever visited him. The Malfoy kid had stopped coming after the kidnapping and Harry dropped by once a year on his death day for a hello. It was a lonely existence, and it had brought him to the point where he told his secrets to an eighteen-year-old.

Albus fiddled with the quill and then looked up at him, Lily's eyes piercing Severus. "You are worthy of being remembered. I'm proud to say I'm named after you. You were the greatest wizard to come out of Slytherin since Voldemort corrupted it."

Damn it. That was the real reason he adored the boy. For all the brashness he had inherited from his father and mother, he also had his grandmother's kindness. Harry had been too much like James; he never saw Lily in him except when the "Boy Who Lived" had turned Lily's eyes on him. Those eyes had made Occlumency lessons a painful experience for both of them. Harry's snooping into his Pensieve had merely served as an excuse to end the lessons and escape his eyes.

"I am worthy of very little and I am definitely not a great wizard. Perhaps I am not an evil one, but I am not great."

The silly boy's smile even looked like hers. "You are great. You're an amazing potions master. Without you, Dad would never have survived long enough to win the war. You're a hero."

Severus frowned at the boy. "If you insist. However, you have not succeeded in evading my question. Is something wrong?"

Albus sighed and then blurted out, "I still haven't seen my friends since the kidnapping. Scorpius is the only one who came to see me in St. Mungo's, and I haven't seen him in weeks since he has detention still. I don't know everyone is going to react to seeing me when I visit with them on the next Hogsmeade weekend, and I'm just worried."

Ah, to be a teenager. Such simple concerns. "They will think you look more like your father and that they've missed you terribly." The boy had opted to finish his seventh year from home and had various tutors helping him with his subjects. The other children at Hogwarts probably thought Albus was odd for doing so, but Severus would not be the one to point it out to him.

"I know that much." Albus's fingers drifted across the scar on his forehead. "I'm afraid they are going to hate me for being gay. The ones that didn't already know, at least."

Not so simple after all. "In my day, you would have been tied to a pole and whipped." Albus's hand flew to his chest and Severus felt awful. How could he have forgotten the boy's experience? "I apologise. I did not mean to bring up painful memories. And the world is a much different place now. There are so many Muggle-born students attending Hogwarts that I am sure your generation does not share the homophobic ideas of mine."

He fiddled with the quill again. "I hope so." Severus resisted the urge to pluck the feather from his hands. Couldn't the boy resist the urge to fidget for a minute?

"Are you going to back away from your convictions if they prove not to agree with them?"

"No! Of course not."

"Good. Do not let other people convince you that your ideals are wrong." Severus had done that, and look where it got him: trapped in a shack for all of eternity. Severus didn't want the boy to follow the same path he had and spend his life yearning for a love he could not have.

Albus shook his head. "I won't. I'm gay and I'm comfortable with that. If the wizarding world isn't then that is not my problem."

"You have given up on your fight for homosexual rights then?" Severus was surprised. He had fought for his Slytherin Pride campaign for years before things had finally improved. He hadn't approved of the boy's Gryffindor style of fighting, but he was proud of his ambitions.

"I haven't given up; I've just decided not to care if people don't like me. Aunt Hermione is helping me work with the Wizengamot to draft possible laws for them to vote on. Most of them agree that gays should no longer be persecuted, but I can't seem to get any of them to agree to allow us to marry." Severus's own prejudices against homosexuals, ingrained in him from the time he was born, made him want to agree with the Wizengamot on that one, but he held his tongue.

"I am certain you will convince them to come to some kind of compromise. Is your father behind the idea?" Albus nodded. "Then you have nothing to worry about. If the Boy Who Lived supports something, surely the entire wizarding world will come to support it as well."

He paused to judge Albus's feelings for a moment and decided to speak his mind. "Your new looks could make it easier to sway the public's opinion as well. If they see pictures of you, they will remember what your father looked like when he was your age. Which will, of course, remind them that he destroyed Voldemort at your age and make them feel grateful towards him and, in conjunction, you. A few well handled press releases could have most of the wizarding world on your side in a matter of months."

Sighing, Albus said, "I know, and the idea appeals to me because it would turn Goyle's attack into something beneficial. I don't want people to support this because Dad does though. I want them to support it because it's a good thing."

"You sound like a Gryffindor. Are you positive you were meant to be a Slytherin?"

Surprisingly, Albus laughed. "I couldn't have been a Gryffindor even if I wanted to. The hat sorted me into Slytherin only a few seconds after it touched my head. I didn't even get to fight with it like my dad."

That was new information. "Your father fought to be placed in Gryffindor?"

"The hat wanted to place him in Slytherin."

They both laughed at that. The snake house would have eaten Harry Potter alive.

"You do have your Slytherin tendencies, I suppose. Like your ability to manipulate a conversation." He quirked an eyebrow at Albus. "How are you doing? And by that I mean, how have you handled the kidnapping?"

Albus shuddered lightly, his whole body tensing and releasing rapidly. He just laughed though. "Well, you've seen my shakes. I tend to shudder anytime I get stressed or have to face something I don't like." He finally set the quill down then; his hand was quivering too hard to hold it. "The memories give me panic attacks. If anyone touches me with a wand or tries to hold me down in any way, I flash back to the torture and flip out. I'm still half blind, though the healers managed to restore some of my eyesight." His hand fluttered to his chest and then up to his forehead. "I'm covered with ugly scars too."

"All of us have our scars. Some are visible like your father's. Others are only mental, but they can be equally grotesque." Severus carried both kinds of scars.

Albus shrugged. "It doesn't matter. It's not like I go parading around naked or anything. Knowing they are there just makes the memories that much harder to banish."

Severus was glad to see that his tremors were slowly stopping. "Have you tried any therapy to overcome the memories?"

"I tried pensieve therapy, but it left me feeling too disjointed." Severus understood that. He had only used a pensieve when necessity required him to. When one removed their memories, they still retained the knowledge that those memories were missing. Being unable to access them had frustrated Severus. There were also studies that showed that permanent removal of even a small memory could drive someone to madness. Albus Dumbledore, for all of his greatness, had lost touch with reality towards the end of his life. Severus had a personal theory that he had used his pensieve too much.

"What about the Muggle style of therapy? Psychiatry?" Surely, there was something out there to help him. Severus was afraid that the boy would crack soon under the pressure of trying to handle such traumatising memories without any outside help.

"No, I couldn't handle talking about the memories. The psychiatrist just labeled me with something called post-traumatic stress disorder and gave me pills that made it worse. The healers at St. Mungo's have me on an anti-anxiety potion though, and it seems to be helping." He held his hand up; it was hardly shaking. "I can discuss it now and my physical reactions are weaker and easier to control. Aunt Hermione wants me to give a press conference in a few months if I improve enough to talk about it in front of everyone."

Ms. Granger, now Mrs. Weasley Severus supposed, had always had a good head on her shoulders. "That sounds like a very wise idea. I suggest you give it as soon as you can handle it. The media is fickle. If you wait too long, your kidnapping and recovery will no longer be important enough to make headlines."

Albus offered him a smile. It was weak, but sincere. Perhaps the boy would be alright after all. "I know, Severus. And I appreciate your advice. Unfortunately, the thought of standing before a roomful of reporters makes me want to throw up."

* * *

Al wanted to throw up. He hadn't even eaten any breakfast, but his stomach still felt like it was full of pixies fluttering to escape. He stared out at the large crowd and swallowed hard. He couldn't see clearly enough to count properly, but there were at least twenty reporters there, plus some photographers. It looked like every major newspaper in the wizarding world had decided to send their representative to the meeting. Luckily for the reporters, and unluckily for Al, the conference was being held in a room in the Ministry built for just that purpose and there was plenty of room for everyone.

Why had he ever agreed to do a press conference? Severus had been on his case for weeks after their conversation, pushing him to make a statement, but Al could easily have said no. Then his aunt Hermione got in on the argument and began to nag Al. He finally caved and agreed to do it, but he regretted the decision.

His aunt Hermione squeezed his shoulder. "You can do it. Good luck!" Then she pushed him up to the platform.

It was time to begin the press conference. "Good morning." He took a few seconds to breathe and let the photographers snap pictures. "I would like to thank you all for joining me this morning. I will start out by giving an official statement as to what happened almost six months ago. I was kidnapped from Hogsmeade when I illicitly snuck out of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"I was kidnapped by Terence Higgs who was paid by Gregory Goyle. He left me with Goyle and did not participate in the ensuing events, thus his punishment was based upon the fact that he had kidnapped an adult. He is in Azkaban right now and is not scheduled to be released for two more years." The thought of Higgs being let out of jail didn't really frighten Al. He had been kind to Al, or at least kind for a kidnapper. Not that Al was looking forward to running into him on Diagon Alley someday.

"Gregory Goyle is also in Azkaban on charges of accessory to kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, and use of an Unforgivable. He received a life sentence in Azkaban without chance of parole. After Higgs left me with Goyle, I spent hours undergoing intense torture. I was partially blinded with a potion and scarred with a cursed dagger, as I'm sure you can all see." He gestured to his forehead and saw all the heads in the audience nod. A few flashbulbs went off and Al knew that the resulting pictures would probably be on front pages around the world tomorrow. "I was also subjected to many painful spells." He couldn't describe the torture any more. Just the memories of Sectumsepra made him start shaking. "Then I was rescued by a squad of Aurors and taken to St. Mungo's Hospital. Since then I have been in recovery from the experience. I will begin taking questions now." He took a deep breath and began to worry about what questions they would ask him.

He had taken a double dose of anti-anxiety potion and Aunt Hermione had cast a Cheering Charm on him before he entered the room, but the sudden movement of reporters' hands being thrust into the air startled him and he began to shudder. He balled his hands up into fists, hoping that the cameras wouldn't capture his terror for the world to see.

His attempts to hide his anxiety obviously didn't work. The first question asked during the press conference was, "Mr. Potter, why are you shaking?"

Al tried to smile and spoke as firmly as he could. "Prolonged exposure to the Cruciatus Curse--" whispers began to run through the crowd as he named an Unforgivable curse "--has weakened my muscle control. Stress makes me shudder uncontrollably."

A brown-haired woman in the front of the crowd waved her arm in the air madly until she was called on. "Goyle cast an Unforgivable on you?"

"That is correct." Al could feel the curse burning through him and chose to focus on the reporters instead of the memory. It worked; the phantom pain subsided.

Al did not like the direction the questions were going in. The memories were beginning to encroach on him. He was thankful when someone shouted out, "Mr. Potter, are you gay?"

"I am gay, and I am proud of that." This was a safer topic. Al stood a much better chance of making it through the conference in one piece with questions about gay rights.

"Was that why Goyle had you kidnapped?"

That wasn't a safe question, but Albus did his best to answer it. "Goyle has not explained all of his reasons for choosing to kidnap me, but that was one factor, yes."

"Why are you willing to be so open about you sexuality when it could lead to people hurting you?"

"I've been hurt. Slowly, I am working my way through that. I have people around me supporting me in this. Other people are persecuted by their family members and ostracized by society. They have no one to support them. People continue to hurt them, all because they love someone. I want to help these people." He fastened his eyes on a reporter directly in front of him, one of the few he could see clearly and one known for supporting Muggleborns and lambasting homosexuals. "If a pureblood loved a Muggle, would you torture them to the brink of death?"

"I… No!" The reporter seemed outraged by his question.

"Then why should anyone torture me just because I'm in love a man?" As soon as the words left his mouth, Al blanched. He had phrased that very badly.

"Who are you in love with, Mr. Potter?"

It was too late to pretend he had never said anything. Still, Al knew Scorpius had barely come to terms with the fact that his father knew he was gay. There was no way he could tell them the truth. "I refuse to name the man I love. He is uncomfortable with the idea of wizarding society knowing he is bisexual."

"You're in love with a bisexual? Surely you must be afraid he will leave you for a woman."

Al wanted to sigh, but he refrained. The world was far too small-minded. Why couldn't they understand that a gay man would be as distraught to lose his lover to a man as to a woman?

"I would be upset if anyone I was dating left me for someone else." He saw a few hands go up into the air after that statement and spoke before anyone could ask him a question. "I refuse to answer any more questions about him, on the basis of protecting his privacy."

"Mr. Potter, will you tell us more about your experiences during the kidnapping? You mentioned painful spells being cast on you; what were they?"

_Sectumsepra_. Al could hear Goyle's whisper in his ear. His heart began pounding and he took a moment to steady himself. "The spells used were Sectumsepra, which is a cutting curse, and the Cruciatus Curse."

"How did you feel when Goyle cursed you?"

How had he felt? All he could remember was pain that filled every part of him. He found himself falling into his memories. No, there had been feelings. "Fear. Anger. Anxiety."

His heart was racing. He couldn't move. There was too much pain. He gasped for breath. Flashbulbs began going off around him and brought him back to the conference. He knew there was still time left before the conference was scheduled to end, but he couldn't handle even a few more minutes of pressure. He could feel the memories lurking at the surface of his mind.

"I'm sorry. I'm going to have to end this conference." His aunt Hermione escorted him from the room before any of the reporters could protest. Al was grateful to escape. Once he was out of the room it became easier to breathe.

His mum and dad were outside waiting for him. Ginny swept him up into a hug and pressed a kiss to his temple. "I'm proud of you. That took a lot of courage."

Harry hugged him next, a big bear hug that made Al feel like a little kid, safe in his father's arms. "I'm proud too. It was really ambitious of you to do this so soon after everything."

His father had always understood his Slytherin motivations best.

"Thanks." He was grateful for his family's support.

He was amazed to see the next person who hugged him.

"Uncle Charlie!"

"Hello there, Alby." He pulled Al into the crook of one arm and gave him a noogie. "I had to come and say thank you. What you did was courageous and ambitious, but it was also encouraging."

Al pulled away from his favorite uncle. "Encouraging? How was it encouraging?"

"Your fight is turning the wizarding world on its head and giving people like me the urge to fight for my rights."

Slowly Al comprehended what he was saying. "You're gay too?"

Charlie grinned. "I'm as bent as a bronze Galleon."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Al was slightly offended that no one had informed him.

Charlie reached out and squeezed his shoulder. "I've never told anyone in the family before."

Ginny nodded. "We've always suspected, I think, but Charlie's never been able to talk about it before."

"Then why talk about it now?"

"Because of you." Charlie's gaze was serious. "I've always lived in terror of my family finding out and disowning me. Great big bloody Gryffindor that I am, I couldn't tell the people who loved me who I really was. My nephew the Slytherin though, he told the whole world he was gay."

"Not the whole world. Just the wizarding part of it." Al grinned at his uncle. He had always idolised the man and knowing that he was gay wouldn't change that. If anything, Al felt closer to him.

Ron joined them then and assured them that the press conference had ended well. He had been able to field all of the reporters remaining questions and calm them down after Al's panic attack.

Al was glad, but worn out. "May I go home now? I'm afraid I won't be able to stand up for much longer."

Ginny nodded. "Of course, I'll just--"

"Actually," Charlie interrupted her, "I'd like to take Al to meet someone. He wanted to be here today to say thank you too, but he couldn't get off of work."

"How's Norbert, Charlie? Hagrid was wondering about him the other day." Al wondered at his random subject change, but the glint in his father's eye told him the question was important.

"_She's_ doing just fine. In fact, I left James in charge of her when I decided to Floo over today. Though, I could have sworn I told Hagrid that Norbert was actually Norberta at Bill and Fleur's wedding..." Charlie looked confused at the change in subject as well.

Harry smiled then. "You did. I just had to make sure it was you." He patted Al on the shoulder. "Better to be safe than sorry. Of course you can take Al with you."

Hermione spoke up. "Honestly, Harry, asking a random question is the silliest way of making sure that Charlie is really Charlie."

"If it was good enough for Dumbledore, it's good enough for me."

"Now that your father is certain I am myself, let's get going. My friend will be on break in a few minutes and I want to try to catch him." Charlie's loud voice interrupted Harry and Hermione's budding fight. Everyone gave Al another hug and congratulated him on doing well at the press conference. Then Al and Charlie headed out of the Ministry.

Once they had passed the Ministries anti-apparition wards, Charlie wrapped Al up into another hug and Side-Along Apparated him.

He was surprised when they appeared in the Shrieking Shack. So was Severus.

"Albus? What are you doing here?"

"Just cutting through!" Charlie pulled Al over to the passageway to Hogwarts.

"Sorry!" Al called behind him. He could hear Severus muttering about "Gryffindor Weasley spawn" as they moved out of hearing and had to suppress a giggle.

"We're almost there now." Charlie sped up as they cleared the Whomping Willow and Al rushed to keep up.

The fact that they were at Hogwarts had not gone unnoticed by Al. He began going over the people he knew that could possibly be gay. Professor Flitwick? Professor Zeller? Hagrid?

Al was expecting to go up to the main castle and he was surprised when Charlie turned towards the greenhouses instead. Why were they meeting someone out there?

He got his answer when Charlie pushed open the door to Greenhouse Three and ran to hug Professor Longbottom. Al was stunned. Of all the people in Hogwarts, he had never expected Neville Longbottom to be gay.

Neville pushed Charlie away from himself, blushing madly. "Charlie, no, not in the greenhouse. People can see us! It is made of glass, you know."

Charlie just offered him a grin and gestured towards Al. "I brought Al along like you wanted. How much time do you have before your next class?"

Neville cast a quick _Tempus _and smiled. "We have a good thirty minutes before any kids start showing up. I'm right in the middle of a planning period." He placed a few tools he had been working with back where they belonged and then led the way to his office.

When Neville told them to have a seat, Al picked the chair farthest from the door and watched as Charlie flopped into a largish armchair and pulled Neville into his lap. "Not in front of Al, please."

Charlie frowned and wrapped his arms around the other man. "But I've missed you. And you know Al's gay too. He doesn't care."

Al might have been gay, but the part of him that was a teenager was grateful to see Neville rise and move to his own chair. Adults simply weren't supposed to cuddle in front of kids. It made Al feel a bit squeamish.

"Are you two together then?" Blushing at his own words, Al's eyes moved back and forth between the two men.

Neville blushed too, and nodded. "Ever since I finished my Herbology Mastership. We had met before, but when I traveled to Romania to study some rare plants that only grow when nourished by dragon feces, we clicked."

Al was flummoxed. "But… that was ages ago, right? Why doesn't anyone know about you two? I keep hearing rumors that you are engaged to Hannah Abbot."

Charlie nodded at Neville. "That's partially his fault. He isn't ready to come out to anyone yet. I had the hardest time getting him to open up to me when we first met."

Neville reached out and grabbed Charlie's hand. "He's right. It is because of me that we are keeping our relationship quiet. Hannah is the only one who knows about it, and I'm afraid she likes to make jokes that she's the only woman for me since she knows I'll never date a woman."

"We forgive her though because she lets Neville Floo through to Romania from the Leaky Cauldron and never tells anyone." Charlie intertwined his fingers with Neville's and shot him a sincere smile.

The thought that Scorpius and he could have been like that someday flashed through his mind and he smiled. That was his reason for fighting: Scorpius. He missed his boyfriend like crazy…

"Why are you telling me all of this?"

Charlie's lingering smile disappeared. "Because we don't want you to end up like us. We've been together for almost fifteen years now and only one person knows about us. We never see each other except on rare occasions when we can sneak to meet each other somewhere. Our relationship consists of long letters sent back and forth.

"We lived through a war. We saw what it was like for people to be persecuted for what they were. The tortures people dealt to Muggleborns… it wasn't long ago that homosexuals were equally persecuted.

"The two of us are supposed to be bold, daring Gryffindors, but we've been too bloody afraid of getting hurt to even risk telling the people around us who we truly are. Most of the wizarding world lives in the past, especially pureblood families like ours.

"We are telling you this because we want you to know that you are doing a wonderful thing. There are people like us all over the wizarding world living secret lives because they are afraid. You are offering all of us the chance to be able to live without fear."

Al had not thought about it that way before. When he had begun researching the laws about homosexuals, he had only been thinking about allowing them to marry, thinking about himself and Scorpius. While he had realised there were other homosexuals in the wizarding world, he had never met them and thus hadn't thought to consider how his campaign would affect them. He had done the same thing when he began his fight for Slytherin Pride. He hadn't considered the fact that other Slytherins might not want to be championed. All he had thought about was that he hated seeing his house humiliated, and himself along with it.

"I--I never realised it was that big of a deal. I just wanted to be able to marry the boy I love."

Neville nodded. "We figured that was why you started working for our rights, so we just wanted to let you know what the impact of your work was. And that it's appreciated."

"Most of us still aren't ready to come forward and speak out with you, but there are probably hundreds of wizards rooting for you in silence. I am so proud of you for giving that press conference. You've been to hell and back and you are still fighting," Charlie said.

"It's nothing really. I don't want to let the kidnapping rule my life. If I step back now, then I'm giving Goyle exactly what he wanted. I refuse to do that." Al shrugged. "It's just like falling off a broom: they look frightening afterwards, but only until you ride one again. I can remember the pain, but I refuse to let that rule my life."

"You're still stronger than I am. I've never been physically hurt because of my feelings, but I'm still afraid to speak my mind." Charlie's face was serious. "That ends right now though. I'm going to come out and support you and the movement. I'm hoping other's will follow my lead."

Neville released Charlie's hand and cast _Tempus_. "Darn, I need to get back to the classroom." He stood and moved closer to Al. "I'm going to finish the school year before I come out, but I want you to know that I will support you." Al stood as well and was surprised when his old professor pulled him into a hug. "Thank you for what you are doing."

Charlie pushed himself up from his chair. "Oi! What about me?"

"Wait your turn, you prick." Neville released Al and embraced Charlie.

"You know you like my prick," Charlie murmured. Al heard it anyway.

Both he and Neville flushed. "Hush!" Neville protested as he pulled away. "Will I see you later?" Charlie nodded. "All right. Goodbye, Al."

"Bye." Neville bustled out of the room and Charlie and Al followed. They waved goodbye to each other as they headed off in different directions, and then Al and Charlie were alone.

The walk back to the Willow was quiet until Al decided to ask about something that had been bothering him. "Why did Professor Longbottom say he was going to finish out the school year before he came out?"

Charlie sighed. "A lot of parents are going to be upset when they find out that a homosexual has been teaching their children. He knows the Headmistress is going to have to fire him, and he doesn't want to leave her in a lurch with no one to replace him. She'll probably be able to find a new Herbology teacher over the summer though, so he's ready to come out as soon as exams are over."

Al knew that was the reality of being gay in the wizarding world, but Charlie's words still upset him. "That isn't fair."

"I know it isn't, and that's why I am going to help you work to change the laws." Charlie paused to pick up a stick for the Willow's knot. "Now, let's go bother Snape."

"I do want to tell him about the press conference. He'll be pleased that I actually went through with it." Al pushed away his more depressing emotions and tried to recall how happy he had felt when the press conference went well.

* * *

"Is that the paper, love?" Charlie asked as he entered the kitchen.

Neville rolled his eyes. "No, it's a Screechsnap. Of course it's the paper."

Charlie chuckled and brushed a kiss against Neville's cheek. "And a good morning to you too!"

Neville sighed and put down the paper he was holding. "I'm sorry, I'm just a little upset. The Wizengamot just passed a law to repeal the law that says that homosexuals cannot work in the Ministry. Discrimination against gays in other job sectors is still legal though."

Charlie grabbed a coffee mug and filled it from the carafe on the counter. "I know you miss Hogwarts, but I can't say I'm sorry you resigned." Neville glared at him as he settled next to him at the table. "I've missed you."

Neville's glare softened. "I'm glad that we can spend this time together, really, it's just... Hogwarts is my home. It's been my home for years. I hate that these parents think I can't be a good teacher just because I'm gay!"

"It will change. You know that. Every day we get closer to our goal of being treated like everyone else. You'll get your job back someday. Sinistra said that Professor Sprout was happy to come out of retirement for a little while to help. She even promised not to hire a permanent replacement for at least three years," said Charlie, gulping down his coffee.

"What if three years isn't long enough? What if we never see this happen? What if we die before our rights are given to us?" Neville sounded a bit panicked, and Charlie reached out to grasp his hand.

"I don't know about you, but I'm planning to live to be one-hundred and fifty or older. I really hope we've secured our rights by then!"

Neville stuck out his tongue in annoyance, and Charlie took advantage of the movement, pulling him in close to give him a kiss. Neville jerked away, spluttering, and Charlie grinned.

"Don't worry about it too much, okay? I hear the potion for ulcers is incredibly disgusting. I heard something about bull bile..."

Neville laughed and smiled back at him. "All right. I'll try to shake it off."

Charlie nodded and grabbed up the paper. "Now then, let's see... Al's mentioned in the paper three times today, homosexuals were insulted, oh... eight times, and Slytherins were insulted once. This was really a very good news day!"  
Neville snorted. "I'm going to have to kill your nephew for teaching you that. Do you have any idea how annoying it is?"

"You do realise he's going to be your nephew too?"

Neville looked at him for a moment and then blanched. "I never even thought about that..."

"Yep, the moment we are bonded you will forever be related to the Weasleys." Charlie watched his lover's face contort.

"Merlin, I'm going to have George as a brother." Neville groaned and buried his face in his hands. "Do you know how many Canary Creams he and Fred fed me when they were still at Hogwarts? Not to mention the Puking Pastilles prototypes. Madam Pomfrey thought I was dying when I couldn't stop throwing up."

"Don't worry! I'll make sure Ron keeps tabs on him during the bonding ceremony."

Neville panicked then. "No! We can't invite him to the ceremony!"

Charlie frowned at Neville. "He's my brother." Then he smirked. "Besides, I think the person you should really be worried about is my mother."

"Oh, Merlin's arse! I'm going to have a mother-in-law."

"This is what you wanted, right? To be treated like a normal person. Normal people tend to have mother-in-laws."

Neville stared at him. "Shut up."

"Come on, my family isn't that bad, is it?"

Neville shuddered. "I lived in mortal terror of eating for five years at Hogwarts if Fred and George were in the room. Your mother killed Bellatrix Lestrange. Percy is the Minister of Magic, Bill and Fleur break curses, Teddy, Ron, and Harry are Aurors, and Hermione has always scared me a little bit." He smiled. "You're worth it though. I'd bond with you even if your father was Snape."

Charlie grimaced. "Oh, ew. I just had the mental image of Snape and my mother... and, just, ew. Thank you for that."

Neville's cheeky "You're welcome!" was interrupted by the arrival of an owl at the window. Charlie made a face at it, and Neville rolled his eyes at Charlie before moving to the window to take the mail. He looked at the recipient's name and then tossed it to Charlie. "Yours!"

Charlie tore open the envelope, and grinned when he saw the signature at the bottom. "Al wrote us a letter!" He skimmed over it, reading bits aloud. "He made a speech for the Wizengamot last Thursday, and he wants to know if we saw that he was only insulted in the paper once yesterday, which I did see, and then he said that he can't wait for our bonding, but we should be careful because people are going to freak out about it."

Neville snorted. "Obviously. I don't care though. I just want to be bonded."

"He says that he and Scorpius are still dating happily, and that he thinks Scorpius might be getting close to coming out, but Scorpius is still freaked out about what his grandparents would say." Charlie paused for a moment to skim the next line and frowned. "Oh... Al's also going to be visiting us at ten o'clock today." He looked up from the letter at Neville. "What time is it now?"

Neville cast a quick _Tempus_. "Two minutes till ten."

Charlie really wished his nephew would give them a _little _more notice before his visits. He stood and poured a cup of coffee, strode to the fireplace, and watched as Al Flooed in. He handed the cup to Al. "And just what are you doing in Romania?"

Al grinned. "I just heard about your bonding from Grandma Molly! She's very excited that you're letting her plan the ceremony, by the way."

Charlie sniggered as Neville let out a squawk and cried, "We never said that!"

"Anyway, I wanted to come and thank you. Even though bonding isn't illegal, most people choose not to bond because the Ministry won't legalise the bonds of a gay couple. You guys are going to be an inspiration for others."

Charlie shrugged. "That's not really why we are doing it. We just decided that since everyone knows about us anyway, we should be bonded. We've wanted to do it for years."

"Still, I'm excited. Percy said he'll support you publicly, and I know Dad and Aunt Hermione will support you, so it's going to be a major thing in the media." Al paused to take a deep breath. "And, you know, I'm really happy for you too. I know bonding isn't as close as a marriage, but I'm glad you're going to do it anyway."

Charlie laughed and pulled him into a hug. "Yeah, we're pretty happy about it too. But we won't be content until we are properly wed, so you'd better get your butt in gear and get the Wizengamot to pass an amendment for gay marriage."

Al shrugged off Charlie's arms with a laugh. "I will. One of the reasons I came to visit was because I wanted to ask you in person if I could talk about your bonding to the media. I won't tell them any private information about the ceremony, but I would like to tell them that you are bonding even though the Ministry will not recognise it."

"It's fine with me." Charlie looked over at his lover. "Nev, are you okay with that?"

"Um..." Neville's eyes shifted back and forth between Charlie and Al. "I don't suppose it's that big of a deal. The media will find out anyway..."

Al let out a whoop. "Thank you!"

Neville rolled his eyes. "Hush, you hooligan."

Al just chuckled. "Anyway, I have to get home." He handed the coffee cup back to Charlie. "Scorpius is waiting for me." They all said goodbye, and then Al Flooed away as suddenly as he had come.

Neville moved next to him, and grasped his hand. "Your nephew is a really good kid."

Charlie entwined his fingers with Neville's. "_Our _nephew is going to do big things."

* * *

Looking out at the crowd, Al still wanted to throw up, but he knew the feeling would pass. It had been nine months since the kidnapping, eight months since he was released from St. Mungo's, and six months since his very first press conference. He'd done more than forty press conferences since then, and he remembered each and every one of them because each and every one was a milestone.

Al's watch vibrated lightly, and Al knew it was time to begin. Al treasured the watch, which was a gift from his uncle George. He could set alarms on it so he wouldn't have to ask about time and betray the fact that his sight was horrible. Al could also tap it with his wand and the time would be announced aloud. His vision was still too weak to read normal clocks from a distance or the small hands on a watch, so George had created the watch just for Al. His whole family had been incredibly supportive since the kidnapping.

Al cleared his throat, adjusted his glasses, and stepped up to the podium. "Good afternoon. I'm glad to see all of you here today. I'm going to begin by making a statement, and then I will open the floor up for questions." The first thing he had learned was the proper way to run a press conference. It had only taken him three conferences to learn that.

"I wanted to speak to you today about homosexual rights. The Wizengamot has been truly progressive in giving homosexuals rights and protections under the laws. Homosexuals are no longer barred from the Ministry. Homosexual acts are no longer illegal. The Ministry no longer has the right to require homosexuals to register as if they were a dangerous animal. Homosexuals can foster children, and a law is in the works to allow them to adopt these children. These are all incredible steps in the right direction."

He paused for a moment, letting it sink in. Severus taught him the best way to work a crowd around his tenth or eleventh press conference, and he had been doing it ever since. "However," he said loudly, "they are just that. Steps. We have still not made it all the way to equality. Homosexuals are not protected from discrimination. We can be fired from our jobs, evicted from our houses, and shown out of restaurants and stores, for no reason besides our sexuality."

He looked out at the crowd, focusing on heads. He couldn't make out all the details of their faces, but he could tell men from women, blondes from brunettes, and photographers from writers. By looking towards their heads, Al seemed to be making eye contact with them. He learned during his twentieth press conference that this led to him getting a more favourable article in the paper.

"Most importantly, we cannot marry the ones we love. We are human beings too. We fall in love. We get out hearts broken. We discover that one person who knows us like no one else. Those of us that find that person want to marry him or her. We want to have a chance to feel permanently connected to our love. That chance, that _right _isn't given to us though."

Al paused again, glancing over the crowd, trying to judge what people were thinking. It was hard to pick out emotions when he could not see clear facial features, but he could see shoulders slumping here and there, and one female reporter had pulled out a handkerchief, though Al couldn't tell whether she was using it to blow her nose or wipe away tears.

Finally convinced that he had gotten through to at least a couple of them, Al continued. "My uncle and his partner have been together for over fifteen years. They adore each other, but they lived in separate countries because of their jobs. In those fifteen years, only one person had been told that they were dating, and they saw each other once or twice a year, mainly communicating by letter. They never even told their families that they were gay, let alone dating someone.

"They finally came out to their families, their friends, and the world this year to support the fight for homosexual rights. After fifteen years, they can finally share their love with others, and they have a lot of love to share. In two months, they will be bonding, even though this is an empty ceremony for them. A bonding is a magical spell that records the names of the two being bonded in a large book in the Ministry. This book is centuries old. The spell on the book has been manipulated to only record the names of a male-female bonded couple. Even though my uncle and his love will be bound, the book will not record this binding for future generations.

"Is this fair?" Al asked. "I do not think so. I do not think it is fair that all my uncle has the right to do is create a false bonding with his love. I know that they would love to get married someday, but not only would a marriage ceremony be empty for them, it would be illegal." He took a deep breath, and stared out into the crowd. "I ask you again, is this fair?" He swept his gaze over the crowd. "I will take questions now."

Al still could not handle this part very well. After forty press conferences, he knew how to deal with almost everything. He understood how to work the crowd. He could prepare a speech and construct it so that he could speak without coming across touchy subjects, but he could not prepare for all of the questions he would get. This part was always a tossup. Sometimes Al came out of it unscathed, and other times he had to end the conference due to a panic attack triggered by too intrusive questions.

Al forced himself to focus on the crowd instead of touchy memories. The reporters began clambering for the chance to ask a question. Al nodded in the vague direction of one waving arm.

"Mr. Potter, when and where will this bonding take place?"

Al smiled serenely. "I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to discuss that." As if he would tell these jackals anything about the ceremony. They would descend into the bonding like a hoard of vultures, disrupting everything with their questions and flashbulbs.

A shout came from the back of the room. "There really has been amazing progress towards equality for homosexuals in a very short amount of time. Is there a reason why you are pushing to get these laws passed so quickly?"

"I have no specific reason beyond the fact that I do not believe there is any reason to wait. Homosexuals are still living in hiding because they fear losing their jobs or houses. It isn't humane to allow people to suffer while we deliberate over laws." Not to mention the fact that the sooner the laws were passed, the sooner Neville and Charlie could really marry, and he and Scorpius could come out as a couple. Al wished his lover were less reticent about telling the public about their relationship.

Al saw a report near the front raise her hand. He smiled in her direction.

She glanced down at her notebook, and then up at Al. "Will Auror Potter and Minister Weasley be attending the bonding and supporting these new laws?"

"Of course!" Al said, surprised they even had to ask. "The Weasley family is very excited about the bonding ceremony; and the Minister, the head of the Aurors, the subhead of the Aurors, and the head of Magical Law Enforcement are all firmly for the new laws."

"Is your whole family supportive of this then?" the same woman asked.

"They are. My Uncle George is even selling rainbow coloured wands, candies and clothing at Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes. The Gaily Gay Gummies even turn you rainbow coloured when you eat them."

Hands were rising again, and Al nodded in the opposite direction than last time. He regretted the decision almost immediately.

"Are you still in love with a man, Mr. Potter?"

Al held back a sigh. He had not once gotten through a press conference without fielding a question about Scorpius.

"Yes, I am still in love with the same man," said Al.

"And who is it?"

This time Al didn't bother to hold back his sigh. "As I have stated in all of my previous interviews, I refuse to name him until he is ready to come forward on his own."

"And he is."

Al spun around, gaping when he saw who was behind him. Nervously, he tried to cover for Scorpius's sudden speech. "Scorpius is just joking, of course. The man, _who is not in this room_, isn't ready." He stared at Scorpius with wide eyes. "What are you doing?" he whispered.

Scorpius just smiled at him. "I'm coming out," he said proudly.

The pressure was too much for Al. He could feel his hands beginning to shake. "Stop joking around Scorpius." He glanced at the reporters, but couldn't see anything but a blur of flashbulbs. "Stop talking!" he hissed. "You've been able to hide for almost a year now; don't blow it!"

Scorpius stepped closer to him. "Did you know I told my grandparents about us last night?"

Al shook his head, wondering what Scorpius was doing. They had kept their relationship a secret for so long, and suddenly he was practically throwing their story to the media!

"Well, my grandmother told me she had already figured it out, and my grandfather informed me that he hadn't and that I am now no longer in his will because of the fact that I am a 'disgusting, perverted anomaly'."

Suddenly the reporters didn't matter. Al stepped forward and clasped his hand around Scorpius's. "I'm so sorry..." he whispered.

Scorpius laughed. "Don't be. I'm not. I'm still in my father's will, so I'll inherit someday, and my grandmother said I'm still welcome in the Manor. I never liked Grandfather anyway."

Al squeezed his hand. "Still... what does that have to do with this?" he asked, quirking his head towards the crowd of journalists.

"Now that I've told my grandparents about us, I have nothing to hide."

"Are you sure?" Al couldn't believe that after so long Scorpius had finally decided to come out.

"I'm sure." He smirked and pulled Al into a tight hug. "And I'm ready to come out in style."

Scorpius kissed him long and deep then, and Al could hear the flashbulbs going off like mad. He didn't care though.

Al pulled away from the kiss and stepped up to the podium. His voice was slightly breathless as he grinned at the reporters and announced, "I am in love with Scorpius Malfoy."

Al had finally gotten what he truly wanted—the chance to tell the world how much he really loved Scorpius.

* * *

Lily didn't know why, but weddings and bondings always made her cry. She'd been to plenty, what with the number of older cousins she had, and she always swore she wouldn't cry and then did. She reached for the sleeve of the person next to her and used it to wipe her eyes.

"Lily!"

Lily rolled her now dry eyes at her brother. "What? My dress doesn't have any sleeves, and I could hardly see. I didn't hurt your suit."

Al glared at her. "Still! That doesn't mean you can just go around using other people's sleeves like—"

"Hush, Al." Scorpius reached over and patted Al on the head. "Focus on the ceremony, please."

Al stuck his lower lip out into a pout for a second and then broke into a smile. "I'm so happy for them!"

"Shut up!" Lily hissed at him. Charlie and Neville had just reached the platform in the middle of the room. They had chosen to arrange the audience into a circle around a raised stage and both of them had walked in at the same time from opposite sides of the room. Lily thought it was a beautiful gesture of equality.

Just thinking about it made her tear up again, but she just blinked the tears away, not wanting to interrupt the ceremony by fighting with Al. Charlie and Neville had asked Percy to be the Master of Ceremonies, and he stood in front of them on the platform. She started to space out as Percy read a long bit from a book about love and togetherness and boding.

Fighting off a yawn, Lily decided that her uncle's speeches were probably the most boring things in existence. Having lost interest in the official part of the ceremony, she began to gaze around the room.

Her aunts and uncles were all on the same side of the room as she was. In fact, more than half of the room was full of various Weasley family members. The proud matriarch of the family, Grandma Molly was in the front and centre, sobbing loudly. Charlie was the last of her children to bond or marry, and she was obviously taking it hard. Grandpa Arthur sat next to her, looking solemn. Lily wondered how comfortable he really was with the fact that Charlie was gay.

The next family she saw was Uncle George's. Aunt Angelina, Uncle George, Fred and Roxanne were all sitting in a row, watching the proceedings silently. Lily caught Uncle George and Roxanne sharing a wink, and she knew that they had something up their sleeves. Hopefully they had at least saved the prank for the reception.

"Do you, Charlie Weasley, agree to love and cherish Neville Longbottom through good times and bad times, in illness and in health, in poverty and prosperity for as long as you both shall live?" Lily focused back on the ceremony again in time to see Charlie grin sweetly at Neville.

"I do."

Lily wanted to hear Neville take his vows too, but Percy decided to go into another long monologue. She sighed and shifted her attention to her family again.

Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur were sitting with their three kids and six grandkids. Lily thought that some of the parents looked a little besieged. They were whispering madly at their children, trying to get them to stay calm. Victoire looked especially overwhelmed as she tried to feed the baby in her lap and occupy the twins next to her while Teddy took their oldest to the bathroom. Lily didn't know exactly why Teddy and Victoire had decided to have four kids so quickly, but she expected that it wasn't all their choice and that there would be more children before long. Supposedly, the "seven kids curse" ran in the family, skipping a generation or two, but always resurfacing somewhere.

Percy's wife Audrey, their two daughters, and the girls' husbands were sitting near the back of the room. Molly was due at any time, but she had desperately wanted to come to Charlie's bonding. She looked vaguely uncomfortable, but Lucy and Audrey were there to take care of her, so Lily didn't worry too much about it.

She caught her mother's eye then, and blushed when she realised how obvious it was that she hadn't been paying attention. Her mom just smiled at her though and turned back to the ceremony. Her father was sitting next to her and was very obviously not paying attention to Percy's rambling. Lily leaned to the side a bit and saw that he had his Portable-Box out and was typing in a message. Something must have been going on at the Ministry.

A look at her uncle Ron confirmed that idea. He had his Portable out too, though he sheepishly put it away when Aunt Hermione elbowed him. Lily had to laugh when Hugo likewise elbowed his sister a moment later for talking too loudly to her boyfriend.

"...for as long as you both shall live?" Finally! Lily turned back to the stage and watched Neville smile.

"I do."

"Please hold hands," Percy said as he pulled a gold ribbon from his robe. Neville and Charlie joined their right hands together, looking like they were shaking hands. Percy wound the ribbon around their wrists and between their fingers. "_Iugumeterno_!" The ribbon shimmered for a minute and then shrunk into two golden rings, one on each man's hand. "You have now been bonded before your family, friends, and Merlin. This bond is eternal." Percy blushed and stumbled over his next few words. "I now pronounce you... um, life partner and life partner."

Charlie laughed. "I don't want a life partner; I want a husband!"

Neville pulled him closer. "I'd say that you have one." Charlie smirked and then leaned down to kiss his new husband.

Percy began to splutter. "But... but... I didn't say you could kiss yet!" he wailed. Charlie and Neville ignored him, and everyone else started to laugh.

Neville broke the kiss, blushing and breathing harshly. "You are all welcome to adjourn to the reception next door now."

Charlie leered at Neville. "We'll be over in a while."

Lily giggled as Neville flushed even darker and tucked his head into Charlie's shoulder. Standing, she looked around the room again, watching everyone stand and stretch. Her eyes landed on Al and Scorpius next to her, and she had to smile. They had their hands entwined and were smiling sappily at each other.

"Come on you sops," she said, ruffling Al's hair. "Let's go get some food!"

Al glared up at her. "Can't you be a little more serious? The ceremony was so beautiful, and now they are bonded, and it's just so perfect and romantic and—"

Lily and Scorpius both laughed at him. "And here I thought _I _was the girl in this family," said Lily.

"I'm not being a girl!" Al protested. "It was just very touching!"

Scorpius smirked at him. "Al, words like 'touching,' 'beautiful,' and 'romantic' are extremely girly."

"I am a man, and you know it!"Al leaned towards Scorpius, murmuring, "You seemed to understand that last night. I didn't hear any complaints about my manliness when I—"

"Albus Severus Potter! Shut up!" Scorpius hissed. Lily's eyes widened, and she snickered.

"Now that my manliness has been agreed upon, let's head over to the reception."

Lily rolled her eyes. Honestly, Al complained that she was crass for suggesting they go eat, and then he went and did the same thing. Her brothers drove her crazy.

It was a good thing that James hadn't been able to come to the wedding. He was still on the dragon reservation in Romania, covering for Charlie so that he and Neville could go on a trip after their bonding. Lily knew that if she had to deal with both of her brothers, she would probably end up smacking one or both of them. Her family was just completely insane.

Still, she loved them. When Al had been kidnapped, Lily had been distraught. Even now, she worried about him. He was always putting himself out in the public eye, flaunting his homosexuality before people who called him a pervert or an abomination. She was afraid that some day he would really get hurt or even killed.

She watched him as they entered the reception. He flitted around the room, stopping to talk to people and greeting everyone he came across. He looked happy, but she could see him squinting to try to make out people's faces and when someone accidentally jabbed him with their finger while they were gesturing, Al froze up for a moment before laughing shakily.

Lily knew he still wasn't over the kidnapping, and he would probably never recover from it fully. She wished that he would stop putting himself at risk. Lily wasn't alone in wanting Al to be careful. Everyone in the family had gone out of their way to help Al. They escorted Al at press conferences, checked his mail for dangerous spells or potions, and kept track of him from day to day.

No one was more involved in keeping Al safe than Scorpius. He went to every press conference or interview Al did, usually hiding in a back room, but still nearby. He was just as cold and private as he had been at Hogwarts, just as undemonstrative, but he was there for Al in a way that no one else could be.

Even here, at a bonding reception, she could tell he was trying his best to protect Al. He followed Al around the room, not touching him, barely talking to him, but watching over him. Moreover, she could see that Al liked it. He would talk to a few people, smiling and happy, and something would happen and she could see a change come over him. He'd retreat into his shell, his smile dropping away as his hands began to shake. It was always his hands that started to shake first.

Scorpius was always right there though. He'd ease up behind Al, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, or just speaking softly to him until Al began to smile again. He never touched Al suddenly, and he never whispered into Al's ear. Lily was touched that Scorpius knew the things that set off her brother's panic attacks, and he avoided them at all costs.

Scorpius was exactly what Al needed. Al liked to be in-charge. He liked to rule, fight, and argue. Scorpius was just quiet and there. He seemed almost unnecessary, like a single brick in a bridge, but she thought that if Scorpius disappeared, a small part of Al would fall apart.

That wasn't quite it though. Lily looked at Scorpius, really watched him. He wasn't just there. He was bigger than that one little brick. He was the mortar of the bridge. He held it together, made it stronger. You could build a bridge without mortar if you shaped the bricks just right, but it wouldn't be as steady. It wouldn't withstand the pressures it would have to undergo.

That was Al and Scorpius. Al was the showy part of the bridge, the bricks, and Scorpius was the less noticed, but equally important part. He was Al's support in all ways. He calmed him, enflamed him, broke him, and rebuilt him. He was the speechwriter to Al's speaker, the master of intelligence to Al's battlefront soldier, the secretary to Al's Minister of Magic.

Lily settled herself into a chair at an empty table, watching them make their way around the room. Maybe she was waxing poetic. Maybe she was being stupid. Nevertheless, she thought that if Scorpius hadn't been there, then perhaps Al would not be here.

She watched a member of the Wizengamot make a comment to Al and burst into laughter. She saw a tight smile spread across his face. She noticed that his hands were beginning to shake. Then Scorpius reached out, took a hand, and squeezed it gently, one, two, three times, the age old signal for "I love you."

Then she realised that she didn't have to worry. Al could go out there and put himself at risk because he had the ultimate protection. He loved and was loved, and Lily's Dad said that nothing was stronger than love. Scorpius would protect Al from the world and from himself.

She smiled gently, swiped a glass of champagne from a passing waiter's tray, and settled back into her chair. Now that she knew Al was safe, it was time to focus on bigger, more important things—like whether the yummy boy in the corner would be more interested in her or her cousin Hugo.

* * *

Al didn't even realise what day it was until he opened the newspaper at the breakfast table to check his word counts. He just happened to glance at the date on the front page, and then it felt like the world was collapsing in on him.

One year. It had been one whole year since he had first been kidnapped. He'd known the day was coming, but he had avoided thinking about it. The paper was shaking in his hands, and when he tried to fold it, the papers refused to lay flat. His hands didn't want to work, and Al was getting frustrated, so he finally gave up. He stood, walked over to the garbage bin, and threw the paper away. It sat there, laughing at him, so Al grabbed his bowl of porridge and dumped it on top of the paper, covering up the date, the reminder.

He couldn't cover up the memories though. He paced the kitchen, glaring at the bin each time he passed it, watching the clock the rest of the time. One minute, two minutes, three minutes—time passed so slowly. Al frowned, flicked his wand at the clock and turned it towards the wall. Then he stomped out of the kitchen to his bedroom.

Scorpius was still in bed. Leaving Hogwarts hadn't cured him of his hatred of mornings. Al stripped off the shoes and shirt he had pulled on and crawled back into bed with Scorpius. He scooted over until he was close to Scorpius, but not touching him. He wanted comfort, but the thought of touching frightened him. Al's skin was vibrating, and his scars were aching.

His breath was coming quicker every moment, puffing past his lips in little gasps. Al was shaking, his muscles tensing and releasing repeatedly. He forced himself to focus on Scorpius, watching his chest rise and fall slowly.

_Sectumsempra_, he heard in his ears, whispers no one else ever heard. _Crucio_.

Something poked him in the side. Al screamed and jumped away from the feeling, almost falling off the bed. In his terror, it took him a moment to realize it had only been Scorpius's hand.

"Al, what's wrong?" Scorpius asked, moving next to him. Al couldn't see what he was doing because his eyes were jammed shut, the darkness engulfing him and pulling him back to that dark room.

"Al?" Scorpius sounded farther away, and Al felt himself relax just a little bit. No one was going to touch him. No one was going to slice him open. No one was going to torture him.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. What's going on?" Scorpius's voice was soft and gentle, but he didn't whisper or touch Al. "Come on, you can tell me."

Scorpius was safe. Al could trust him. "It's been a year..." he gasped, his throat feeling as raw as it had when they rescued him.

"Shh, shh, it's all right. You're safe. You're all right. You aren't there anymore. You're okay." Scorpius murmured soft nonsense, caressing Al with words instead of hands.

Al began to calm down slowly. His breathing returned to normal first, and then he was able to open his eyes. He knew he was fully calm when he stopped shaking. He reached out then, and took Scorpius's hand.

"Are you all right now?" Scorpius was sitting up next to him, and he leaned over slightly to look into Al's face.

Al nodded and squeezed his hand tight. "Thank you. I'm sorry I'm such an idiot."

Scorpius snorted at him. "If you're an idiot, I'm the queen of England."

"Whatever. I just... feel a little stupid, I guess."

"You aren't stupid, Al. It's understandable that you still aren't over this. In fact, it's normal." Scorpius moved slightly and then froze. "Can I lay down next to you?"

Al sighed. "Yeah. And that's not normal. Why should you have to ask permission just to lay next to me?"

Scorpius settled against him, wrapping an arm around Al's waist. "I don't _have _to ask permission. I could easily touch you and freak you out, but I don't because I don't want to do that."

Al rolled his eyes. "Stop being a grammar nerd. You know what I mean. I just want to get over this."

"Why haven't you got over it already?"

Al shrugged. "I dunno."

"Do you want revenge?" Scorpius asked lightly.

"No. He's in Azkaban for the rest of his life. That's enough revenge for me."

"Do you hate him?"

Al paused. He'd never really considered it before. "I... I guess not. I mean, he was obviously crazy. I know that. I don't quite forgive him for it, but I kind of understand why he did it." Al paused again. "No, actually, I don't. I don't know why he chose me, why he reacted that way. And I want to know."

Scorpius let out a huge breath, and Al wondered if he had been waiting for that statement. "Are you sure you want to know? Are you ready to know?"

"Yes. Why?"

"My father thinks he knows why Goyle did it. He told me his thoughts about a week after you were kidnapped. I wanted to tell you, but you could hardly handle hearing his name at first. I didn't know whether you would ever be ready."

Al sat bolt upright. "I'm ready now. Tell me!" he demanded.

Scorpius shook his head. "No, I think my father should be the one to tell you. Get dressed and we'll go to the Manor to see him."

Al was out of bed and dressed before Scorpius even stood up. Scorpius raced through his morning ablutions, and then they Floo called Malfoy Manor. Draco agreed to see them, so they Flooed through into the parlour.

As they settled into the parlour chairs and poured themselves some tea, Al began to doubt himself. Maybe he wasn't ready. He wanted to know though. Still, what if it was something upsetting?

Scorpius made the decision for him, announcing their purpose for visiting.

Draco, as he had asked Al to call him months before, looked away for a minute. He took a shuddering breath and turned back to them. "What do you know about Gregory Goyle?" he asked Al.

"I... not much. He told me that—" the memories of his many words began to encroach on Al's mind, but he shoved them away, focusing on Scorpius's face instead "—my father killed his friend and that he hated gays. I don't... I don't know why he hated me so much though, why he chose me to hurt."

"He told you the reasons why he picked you. It's all because of those two things: Vincent's death and his feelings towards homosexuals—towards himself."

Al gasped. "He's gay?"

Draco nodded, absentmindedly twirling his teacup in his hand. "I think I'm one of the few people he told, and it was probably my fault that he ended up the way he did."

"Father?" Scorpius sounded confused and more than a little lost.

Drops of tea were splashing onto Draco's trousers as he continued to twirl his cup. "We were fifth years when he came out to me. I was his leader, you know? I gave him advice, and he thought he could trust me. He told me he had fallen in love with a boy, and he didn't know what to do." Draco's hand shuddered and a large splash of tea hit the floor. "I told him he was disgusting and that he needed to stop being a pervert and fall for a woman."

Scorpius made a small sound of distress, so low Al hardly heard it. "Do you still feel... like that?" he asked his father.

"No!" Draco leaned forward, and Al couldn't make out the look on his face, but he knew it was probably reassuring because Scorpius sighed lightly, almost happily. "That was what I was raised hearing. Homosexuality wasn't something done in the wizarding world. The Muggles had homosexuals though, and my father hated them more than any other Muggles. When Greg told me he was gay, I didn't know what to make of it.

"And then I betrayed him. I was so confused about it that I wrote to my father, explaining what he had said. My father told me in a reply that I had done the right thing. Then he informed Greg's father. Greg went home over winter break a little gloomy, and he came back broken. He didn't tell any of us what had happened, but he started screaming in his sleep. The whole dorm heard him begging his father not to use the Cruciatus curse again.

"When I finally confronted him about it, he broke down. His father had showed him a law in the books that said homosexuals were worthless and should be punished. Then his father used the Cruciatus on him for hours. He didn't know how his father found out, but I did. I knew it was my fault."

Draco paused to breath and then drank the rest of his tea. He set the empty cup on its saucer, and the two rattled against each other for a moment. "And then he told me something that I'll never forget. He said that he was still in love. He still loved Vincent."

Al gasped. "So when he died—!"

Draco nodded. "I watched over Greg for the next three years. He was completely in love with Vincent, and Vincent had no idea. Greg did anything and everything he could to help Vincent. After that last confession though, he refused to call it love. He said that Vincent was his best friend and left it at that. His father had broken him, destroyed him to the point that Greg hated homosexuals and hated himself. His love was practically selfless. Once, he sat outside of the dorm room door and kept everyone out for two hours so that Vincent could be alone with his girlfriend."

Al couldn't align the picture of this man with the one who had hurt him so badly. He didn't want to understand him. He didn't want to ache for him, to think about how it would feel to guard a room so that Scorpius could have sex with a girl. Al wanted to hate him, but he couldn't anymore.

"I realised then that homosexuality wasn't the terrible perversion that my father said it was. It was people. It was love. I tried to explain it to Greg, but I waited too long. We were in the middle of a war when I made the realisation, and we had grown apart. I tried to explain what I thought, but he blew me off, and a week later, Vincent was dead."

A question was weighing on the back of Al's mind. "How did... how did Vincent die?" Goyle had told him that his father had done it, but Al didn't want to believe it.

Draco laughed derisively. "He killed himself."

Al was shocked. He had _not _expected to hear that.

"Oh, don't look so surprised. He didn't do it on purpose. He'd never been the smartest bloke—" Draco smiled lightly "—but he was skilled with Dark spells. We were trying to find a Horcrux for the Dark Lord, and Potter and his friends showed up to stop us. We fought them, but they started to overpower us. Greg was knocked out. Vincent had the threat of his sister's death hanging over his head and he panicked. He set the Room of Requirement alight with Fiendfyre. I thought we would all die, and your father saved me. Weasley and Granger saved Greg, but Vincent was... he was too far gone. The flames swallowed the room and Vincent, and we lost the Horcrux after all."

"Then... why did Goyle say my dad killed Crabbe?"

"Greg was lost consciousness before Vincent set the fire. When he woke up and learned Vincent was dead, I think the last sane part of him broke. He refused to believe Vincent had set the fire, and he blamed Potter. He hated Potter, and he hated himself because even though Vincent was dead, Greg still loved him completely."

"Why me though? Why did he choose me for his revenge? Why not my dad?"

Draco snorted. "Greg couldn't beat your father in a duel if your father was blindfolded, gagged, and wandless, and he knew it. He would have taken revenge on your father if he could have. You though... Greg worked as an Aide to a Wizengamot member. He must have seen your stunt with the letters before almost anyone else. I think it probably infuriated him that you were Potter's son and that you had come out when Greg had been in hiding and denial for so long."

Al sighed. He stilled wanted to hate the man that had hurt him, but he really couldn't. If he had been in the same position, he might have gone a little bit insane too. Even the thought of losing Scorpius made him feel a little crazy. "Is it normal to feel bad for someone who's hurt you so badly?" he asked plaintively.

Scorpius laughed. "It's perfectly normal. It means you'll be able to get over this."

"I suppose so..."

Scorpius took Al's hand and pulled him up and over to Scorpius's lap. "Are you okay then?"

"I'm fine. I'm a little... shocked is the closest feeling, I guess, but I'm all right." He leaned his forehead against Scorpius's. He loved being this close and actually being able to see Scorpius's eyes. Right then they were sparkling happily at him.

Draco coughed, and Scorpius jumped, but Al just giggled. "While I may be... understanding of homosexuality, I'm not entirely comfortable watching you two molest each other. I'll just excuse myself." He stood and moved close enough that Al could see he was smiling. "You are a strong young man, Albus Severus. I know you'll be fine."

Al was touched by his words and he smiled back brightly. "Thank you."

Draco left the room, and Scorpius laughed loudly. "He really likes you, you know. I think it surprises him that he understands a Potter."

"I like him too. He's a lot like you." Scorpius made a face.

"Are you going to be all right?" Scorpius asked him again.

"Stop asking. I'll be fine. Look, I'm not even shaking and I've spent all of this time hearing his name and thinking about him. I can do this."

Scorpius hugged him tightly. "Don't forget about me."

Al grinned. "Right. We can do this." Scorpius was by his side, the Equality laws were on their way through the Wizengamot, and Al had made it through a whole year.

Scorpius kissed him, and Al remembered again why it was all worth it.

"We can do this," he whispered to himself.

THE END


End file.
